SINGAPORE - Workers at Changi Airport will benefit from physical and mental wellness initiatives, thanks to a collaboration with Changi General Hospital (CGH).
This will see Changi Airport Group (CAG) and CGH jointly develop innovative ways to enhance health and wellness among airport workers, travellers and visitors in the coming years.
A memorandum of understanding between CAG and CGH was signed on Saturday (Aug 28) at Jewel Changi Airport, witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and other MPs from East Coast GRC.
They will focus on four key areas, including wellness promotion and occupational health, and wellness programmes for workers.
Both organisations also plan to share information and best practices in their areas of expertise such as infection control and customer experience.
They will also explore innovations in increasingly salient areas such as travel wellness, emergency preparedness and technology for productivity enhancement.
CAG chief executive Lee Seow Hiang said personal health and wellness is now a priority for many in light of the pandemic.
"On top of the health and safety measures we have undertaken in the airport terminals, we believe that by tapping on CGH's health expertise, our collaboration will bring about great synergies for the communities we serve," he said.
For example, Changi airport staff underwent training by CGH on the proper way to don personal protective equipment, and hand hygiene.
CAG will also use the airport as a live test bed for technologies developed by CGH, for example, to enhance productivity at the airport, or for use in emergency situations.
The partnership could also result in more wellness services for the airport community, for example to aid in nutrition and sleep care, as well as better ways to assist persons with special needs travelling through the airport.
On Saturday at Jewel, DPM Heng also kicked off the distribution of care packs to 5,000 aviation industry front liners to show appreciation for them.
Donated by OUE, the care packs, worth a total of $150,000 contained items such as food vouchers, are part of the East Coast Cares initiative under the East Coast GRC, which Changi Airport comes under.
Mr Heng said the aviation workers had worked together to adjust operations and protocols as Covid-19 evolved, which allowed Singapore to gradually resume operations while keeping airport workers safe.
One recipient of the care pack was Mr Augustine Loh, a project director at employment agency P-Serv, which manages customer service personnel at the airport.
Mr Loh said some of the challenges that the customer service airport staff he manages face include adapting to the changing rules and restrictions, such as having to eat at designated spaces.
He said: "Sometimes it is very inconvenient, especially when the arrival gate is quite far from the place where they are having their food... It can be very tiring for them.
"But we as airport staff understand the need for adjustments during the pandemic, and we are very adaptable and show a lot of resilience. Many of us are very optimistic and already accepted the new normal."
