Opening Address by Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Transport Sun Xueling at the Asia Pacific Summit for Aviation Safety

Dr Hassan Shahidi, President and CEO, Flight Safety Foundation, 

Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, 

Distinguished Guests,

Friends and Colleagues from the aviation community,

Introduction

1.     A warm welcome to the third edition of the Asia Pacific Summit for Aviation Safety (AP-SAS). It is an honour for Singapore to co-organise this summit with the Flight Safety Foundation, a trusted partner in advancing aviation safety.  

2.     This year’s AP-SAS convenes at a critical juncture for aviation. As we look forward to exciting growth opportunities with air traffic volumes recovering and surpassing pre-pandemic levels, the past year was also marked by several accidents and serious incidents across the globe. These events may appear episodic, each with their own contributing factors and investigations that will subsequently yield valuable lessons that will guide us in strengthening aviation safety. But there is a broader imperative that undergirds each of these individual incidents, and that is the need for us to reinforce our safety fundamentals. 

3.     To fully leverage on coming growth in aviation traffic, we must redouble our efforts to strengthen our safety foundations and principles.

AP-SAS Platform

4.     Since its inception in Singapore in 2023, AP-SAS has brought together a community of aviation safety leaders and experts from across the globe. 

5.     AP-SAS has achieved significant milestones such as the establishment of the first regional safety data-sharing initiative among five ASEAN States. 

a.     To-date, the participating States have shared some 7,000 occurrence reports across pertinent areas such as bird strikes and severe turbulence. This enhances our collective ability to identify safety hazards and trends, as well as to take proactive measures to address them. 

b.     We look forward to more States joining us in this collaborative effort to strengthen safety across our region.  

Growth in Asia-Pacific and Challenges Ahead

6.     This year, AP-SAS returns to Singapore with the theme, “Future-Proofing Aviation Safety: Adapt, Innovate, Excel”. Global aviation is expanding, driven by rising demand and greater connectivity. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to see the strongest growth over the next two decades, driven by a growing middle class. 

7.     Besides Singapore, countries like Australia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, are expanding their airport infrastructure to meet future demand. As demand for air travel increases, operations in the air and on the ground will be more complex. 

a.     Air traffic management and airport operations management will be increasingly complex, as aircraft volumes grow. 

b.     The increase in air traffic will require higher levels of operational efficiency while ensuring safety standards. 

8.     The evolving geopolitical landscape and supply chain constraints add new layers of complexity to maintaining safety standards. 

a.     Supply chain challenges have prompted the industry to adapt maintenance planning and explore alternative solutions to ensure continued safety and reliability.  

b.     Geopolitical conflicts have also introduced risks to critical aviation systems, such as interference with satellite communication signals. 

c.     We will need to work together to strengthen the industry’s resilience and enhance safeguards to mitigate against these threats.  

9.     Technologies like artificial intelligence provide opportunities to transform aviation operations, but also introduce new complexities.

a.     New air traffic management capabilities, such as System Wide Information Management (SWIM) and Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) enhance operational efficiency through seamless data and information sharing. 

b.     However, these systems also change the way operators interact with the machines, potentially increasing workload and cognitive demands. 

c.     A robust understanding of these technologies, including their limitations and vulnerabilities, is essential to ensure safe and effective implementation.

Future-proofing Aviation Safety 

10.    Addressing these challenges require coordinated and collaborative action. Let me offer three suggestions.

11.    First, as our aviation system faces increasing complexity and demands, it is imperative that we take a proactive approach to reinforce our safety fundamentals and resilience of our aviation systems. These include: 

a.     Robust safety regimes, as we build capabilities and competencies to future-proof our safety management systems and regulatory frameworks to respond to both systemic and emerging risks;

b.     Positive safety cultures, by ensuring aviation personnel are supported in reporting hazards and mistakes, allowing us to uncover unforeseen risks and to take action early; and

c.     Strong safety leadership, where leaders demonstrate the necessary commitment to safety that underpins safety culture and sustains safety efforts.

12.    Such efforts to safeguard aviation will allow us to preserve and build public trust in aviation, a trust painstakingly built over decades, assuring passengers that all efforts have been made to ensure they can fly and return home safely to their loved ones. 

13.    Second, we must continue to deepen collaboration as global headwinds demand collective effort to manage evolving safety risks. 

a.     This Summit exemplifies our region’s unwavering commitment to safety, and builds on the Asia Pacific Ministerial Declaration on Civil Aviation (Delhi Declaration) adopted last year at the ICAO APAC Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation. 

b.     Regional cooperation takes place across various platforms like the ICAO Asia Pacific Regional Aviation Safety Group, the Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional Work Group, and initiatives such as regional safety data sharing. Through these collaborative efforts, stakeholders work together to address safety challenges such as GPS signal disruptions and severe turbulence events. 

c.     Platforms such as AP-SAS bring together governments, industry, and international organisations for timely discussions and cross-sharing of emerging safety issues. It is through such collaboration that we can effectively navigate new complexities and support growth.  

14.    Third, we must continue to embrace technological innovations, such as the SWIM and TBO which I mentioned earlier, to improve our safety regime.

a.     Safe and seamless integration of new technologies requires a measured and systematic approach. 

b.     Rigorous testing, thorough safety assessments, and investment in our aviation workforce training will be critical to harnessing innovations and technology, which can in turn enhance safety and efficiency over time. 

Conclusion 

15.    The next chapter of aviation will be defined by remarkable growth, innovation, and complexity. Amid these developments, we must uphold our core mission of ensuring the safety of air travel. This requires us to continually commit ourselves to our safety fundamentals and principles. 

16.    Ensuring aviation safety also requires strong partnerships and collective action. Collaboration across governments, industry, and international organisations will be increasingly vital in managing cross-border safety issues. It is through open sharing, mutual learning, and strong collaboration, that we can continuously strengthen aviation safety and tackle emerging risks.  

17.    In this spirit of partnership, I am encouraged to see all of you gathered here today. I look forward to seeing further cooperation on aviation safety. 

18.    I wish you all a fruitful and engaging summit, and a pleasant stay in Singapore. Thank you.