The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will collaborate to create common standards to promote safe air travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
CAAS and EASA said in a joint statement yesterday that the memorandum of cooperation they signed will boost traveller confidence to facilitate the recovery of air travel between Singapore and Europe. This will be done through coordination on measures to protect the health and safety of passengers, air crew and airport staff.
It will cover several measures, such as the implementation of physical distancing, enhanced hygiene measures as well as more intensive cleaning of facilities.
The cooperation is the first of its kind in Asia, said the statement. The agreement will also see CAAS and EASA support the participation of Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) in the EASA Aviation Industry Charter (AIC), which promotes guidelines to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
"As participants of the AIC, SIA and CAG commit to implement these operational guidelines for air services between Singapore and European cities," said the statement.
CAAS director-general Kevin Shum said the collaboration is timely and crucial in supporting the aviation industry's efforts to tackle issues caused by Covid-19.
"CAAS is committed to working together with EASA to facilitate the resumption of air services between Singapore and Europe," he added.
EASA executive director Patrick Ky said the cooperation was a significant step forward in increasing passenger confidence in flights between Europe and Singapore.
In a separate announcement yesterday, CAAS and Changi General Hospital (CGH) said they have signed an agreement to team up in establishing a civil aviation medical examination centre at Changi Airport. The centre will provide Singapore aviation licence holders, such as pilots and air traffic controllers, convenient access to various medical services. These include medical examinations, fitness evaluation and aeromedical review.
Mr Shum said: "By drawing on CGH's expertise and experience in delivering quality clinical practice, we will further augment our capabilities in aviation medicine."
Toh Ting Wei
