Welcome Remarks by Acting Minister for Transport, Mr Chee Hong Tat at the ICAO Air Navigation World ATM Procedures For Today Event

Mr Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary General, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.     Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to the Air Navigation World 2023 – Air Traffic Management (ATM) Procedures for Today event, organised by ICAO. 

2.     Singapore is honoured to host this important event. Gathered here today are close to 400 civil aviation authorities, air navigation service providers (ANSPs), and industry leaders from around the world. 

3.     We are here to discuss a common challenge that we all share: how to accelerate global ATM implementation to support the growth in air travel, in a safe, efficient, and sustainable manner. 

Supporting growth in air travel

4.     Air travel has recovered strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Global air passenger volumes are expected to surpass pre-COVID levels next year By 2040, the number of passengers is projected to double from four billion to eight billion. 

5.     This increase in demand will require investments in aviation infrastructure, manpower, and process improvements. 

6.     Governments around the world are ramping up capacity to meet growing demand, capture opportunities for businesses and people, and avoid delays and congestion. Many have announced plans for new airports and runways. Singapore too, has announced the development of Changi Airport Terminal 5.  When fully operational in the mid-2030s, T5 can serve 50 million passengers per year. Airlines, including Singapore Airlines, have stepped up aircraft purchases and are announcing new routes and services. 

7.     When we build capacity on the ground, this needs to be matched by efforts to build capacity in the skies. We would not be able to fully benefit from the investments in new airports and new aircraft if our skies are congested, as airline operations will be impeded, and safety of passengers could be compromised. 

8.     This is why we need to focus on Air Traffic Management. As ATM takes place behind the scenes, it is often overshadowed by airport and airline operations in the public eye. However, it is without a doubt that ATM is critical to the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of aviation. There is tremendous scope and opportunity for us to collectively improve ATM, to yield tangible and win-win benefits for all stakeholders. 

9.     International air travel is cross-border by nature. Passengers and airlines want to be able to get to their destination safely, and in the most direct and efficient way possible, saving time and cost. Globally, there is also an urgent need to collectively reduce the environmental impact of aviation. 

10.    However, the skies today are fragmented, and the management of air traffic is often sub-optimal. If we can enable aircraft to take more direct and quicker routes, and avoid delays and detours, not only do passengers benefit by getting to their destinations faster, airlines can save on operating costs, and we can cut down on fuel usage.  This is good for business, good for customers, and good for the environment. It will also allow us to ensure aviation safety, as our skies become busier. We can achieve these outcomes by working together to accelerate global ATM implementation, by focusing on two “I”s: innovation and international collaboration.  

Innovating Together

11.    First, by leveraging innovation together with advancements in technology, our air traffic controllers will be able to provide better air navigation services, and manage growing traffic and workload. 

12.    Let me highlight a few examples.  Artificial intelligence and machine learning can augment the skills and experience of our air traffic controllers by improving conflict alerts, traffic management and weather prediction. Satellite technologies can help to overcome the limitations of radio communications. Advanced camera systems and image-processing technologies can supplement line-of-sight operations at control towers. Big data analytics can allow us to identify safety patterns, and virtualisation can help enhance resiliency.  

13.    These are some of the areas which my colleagues from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) have been working on, together with industry partners and research institutes. 

14.    For example, CAAS has been collaborating with the MITRE Asia Pacific Singapore R&D facility and the Institute for Infocomm Research to develop a Conflict Resolution Tool (CREST). Once operationalised, CREST will be able to predict potential conflicts in the air and provide air traffic controllers with routing advisories to resolve such conflicts. This will support air traffic controllers’ decision-making and enable them to manage higher densities of air traffic with enhanced safety and efficiency.

15.    However, there are obstacles limiting the pace of global development and deployment of ATM technology. 

a.     First, the technology is expensive. Over the next few decades, Singapore plans to spend several billion dollars to upgrade our air navigation services systems, and introduce other enhancements, to ensure that CAAS continues to manage air traffic at the highest levels of safety and efficiency.  CAAS has started developing its next-generation ATM system, to be operational around the end of this decade.

b.     Second, ANSPs develop and procure these technologies separately and are reliant on a few major technology providers. 

c.     Third, it takes time to validate new technology for deployment in safety-critical operations.

16.    To accelerate global ATM implementation, we need to strengthen global capacity to develop and deploy technology in a faster and more cost-effective manner. We can only do so through collaboration, taking a multi-disciplinary approach, and changing the way we work across ANSPs and with the private sector. 

17.    In this regard, CAAS is working with international partners to set up a new International Centre of Aviation Innovation to promote a new approach for public-private sector collaboration. The centre will have three defining features:

a.     First, it will be international in orientation, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

b.     Second, it will take a broad-based, cross-domain approach to drive innovation across all key aspects of aviation. There will be four vertical domains, on (i) ATM, (ii) smart and digital airports, (iii) sustainable aviation, and (iv) unmanned systems. There will also be two horizontals, on translating research to deployment, and capability development for the aviation ecosystem.  

c.     Third, it will foster partnerships amongst governments, industry, and research institutes to drive development, deployment, and adoption of aviation technologies. CAAS will reach out to other civil aviation authorities, ANSPs, industry, and research institutes around the world to participate in the centre, including serving as Board Members to direct its work and seconding staff to work on joint projects of shared interest.

International collaboration to take practical steps forward 

18.    This brings me to the second "I” on facilitating international collaboration, so that we can take practical steps forward to have a well-integrated and seamless ATM, which will elevate the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of aviation. 

19.    ICAO is helping to drive ATM integration, including through the development of Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO), which will optimise flight paths across Flight Information Regions (FIRs), from take-off to landing. TBO will require close collaboration amongst ANSPs and airlines through adoption of harmonised and interoperable procedures, common technology enablers, and sharing of live operational data.
 
20.    The vision is clear. It is in our respective and shared interest to support and accelerate such efforts towards seamless ATM to enhance safety and build capacity in the skies, not just on the ground, and make aviation more efficient and sustainable. 

21.    Under the leadership of ICAO Asia Pacific (APAC) Regional Director Ma Tao (马涛), APAC ANSPs have deepened collaboration through the formation of the APAC ANSP Committee (AAC), with the involvement of ICAO, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), to collaborate and drive implementation of seamless ATM operations and technologies. 

22.    Just six months after its inaugural meeting in April this year, the AAC has brought together like-minded ANSPs to launch two key initiatives. 

23.    First, the APAC TBO Pathfinder Project will bring together the ANSPs from China, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States, as well as CANSO, and IATA to jointly define, develop and demonstrate TBO for the Asia-Pacific region in the next few years. This will build on the finding of the world’s first-ever multi-regional TBO project conducted by CAAS and the ANSPs of Canada, Japan, Thailand, and the US, and aims to discover the processes and capabilities that will be needed for implementing TBO in the Asia-Pacific region. These initiatives cannot be achieved by any single country or company working alone, and can only be done if we work together through international cooperation.

24.    Second, the Southeast Asia – Oceania Free Route Operations Project will bring together the ANSPs from Indonesia, New Zealand and Singapore, CANSO and IATA to identify applicable city pairs and flights and validate the use of free route operations as a default flight planning option for day-to-day operations between defined cities from the fourth quarter of 2024.          

Conclusion

25.    I encourage all ANSPs to join CAAS in these initiatives, and for ICAO to continue supporting these ground-up efforts. The more like-minded partners that we have, the stronger the collaboration will be, and the better we will be able to achieve these outcomes.

26.    In conclusion, I am excited about the benefits which innovation and technology can bring, and the potential we can realise by working together as an international aviation community. Now more than ever, it is important to remind ourselves that the traveller lies at the heart of everything we do in the provision of air navigation services. Our raison d’etre is to enable them to get to their travel destinations safely, efficiently and sustainably. And we can achieve this mission collectively through innovation and international collaboration.  

27.    I wish to highlight the critical role that ICAO plays as the rule-based international body that establishes global policies, standards and recommended practices, to advance the safety and efficiency of international civil aviation. It is important that we continue to support ICAO and contribute to its work to serve the aviation community and travellers, and gear up for the future of aviation.  

28.    Singapore will provide a voluntary contribution of $200,000 Canadian dollars towards ICAO’s transformational objectives and cybersecurity initiatives. In addition, Singapore has also made an in-kind contribution of $100,000 Canadian dollars for training or consultancy projects to support the Pacific Small Island Developing States.  

29.    Let us continue to work together to advance international civil aviation, bring the joy of air travel to more people, while making the future of air travel safer, more efficient, and more sustainable as we bring our world closer together. 

30.    I wish you all fruitful discussions and a successful event. Thank you.