Future of Aviation Sector Remains Bright - Singapore Transport Minister
By Massita Ahmad
SINGAPORE, May 18 (Bernama) -- The future of the aviation sector remains bright as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, said Singapore Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, S.Iswaran.
“This is particularly so in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said in his remarks at the 11th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation Ministerial Meeting (TMM), held in Detroit, United States from May 15 to 17, 2023.
The transcript of the minister’s remarks was issued here Wednesday.
Citing the forecasts by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association of the world's airlines, the minister said Asia-Pacific will be the fastest-growing region for air travel in the next two decades.
“Passenger traffic is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 4.5 per cent, compared to the global average of 3.3 per cent,” he said.
Given the need for urgent climate action, Iswaran noted that “it is imperative that the growth in air travel is met at a significantly lower level of carbon intensity”.
According to him, under the leadership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and with the industry’s support, “there has been good progress on aviation sustainability.”
ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
He noted that the ICAO Assembly’s agreement on a long-term aspirational goal (LTAG) for international aviation to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, is a rallying call to all stakeholders to work towards an ambitious common goal.
“The next critical step is to translate these LTAG into concrete and actionable pathways,” he said.
The minister believed there are three important ways to go about it, one of them, “investing in the development of new and more fuel-efficient aircraft types to reduce the Scope 1 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of airlines.”
He said that compared to the A330-300 and B777-200ER, the newer A350-900 and B787-10 are both estimated to boost fuel efficiency by up to 25 per cent.
“So just this transition promises significant benefits.
“For the longer term, emerging technologies, in particular electric and hydrogen-based propulsion technology, offer the highest abatement potential, especially for short-haul flights of between 1,000 to 2,000 km,” he said.
-- BERNAMA
