Tackling turbulence, adapting to emerging tech part of Singapore’s new national aviation safety plan

SINGAPORE – The Republic is taking steps to strengthen aviation safety by tackling turbulence and upgrading regulations for new technologies, among others.

On Sept 3, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) published a national aviation safety plan to address safety risks over the next three years amid growing air passenger volumes here.

Emerging safety challenges identified include increased air travel, global supply chain disruptions, geopolitical conflicts, manpower constraints, as well as new technologies and automation.

The plan focuses on four areas: operational safety, policies and rules to support growth without compromising safety, safety management and culture, and manpower development.

It sets out 45 actions for Singapore’s aviation industry to take, which include strengthening cabin safety by managing turbulence, improving aircraft evacuation processes to minimise injuries and fatalities, as well as managing disruptive passengers.

Managing turbulence involves equipping flight crew with training to ensure that they are well prepared to handle such encounters, in addition to providing pilots and air traffic controllers with timely weather information to avoid areas with predicted turbulence, among others.

This is the second edition of the plan, coming after the first version that focused on the

safe ramp-up of manpower and operations in the post-Covid-19-pandemic years

from 2022 to 2024.

CAAS noted that by 2027, it has to conduct further studies to understand what leads to dangerous behaviours, such as passengers trying to take their carry-on baggage with them when they have to evacuate the aircraft.

The authority also said there is a need to improve existing measures such as safety demonstrations, passenger announcements and crew training.

In May 2024,

severe turbulence during a Singapore-bound Singapore Airlines flight from London

left one passenger dead and dozens injured.

A Scoot flight also

encountered turbulence while descending in Guangzhou

in September 2024. Seven passengers were injured.

CAAS noted that airline operators here have since added turbulence-related scenarios to flight crew training, and use modern weather radars and turbulence awareness applications to allow pilots to avoid potentially hazardous turbulence.

The authority is also working with several other civil aviation authorities to promote the use of enhanced turbulence forecasting and onboard turbulence detection systems, in addition to

sharing real-time turbulence data

.

While these measures have been effective, CAAS acknowledged turbulence occurrences as a developing safety risk area where more work can be done, as outlined in the safety plan. The authority also noted that upcoming developments such as

Changi Airport’s new Terminal 5

and the

next generation of air traffic management systems

could pose challenges to safety if not managed well.

To meet these challenges, regulations should be enhanced and upgraded.

This will also allow for safe industry growth by 2027 and beyond, particularly in areas such as unmanned aircraft, air taxis, flight simulation training devices and aviation training organisations.

CAAS added that aviation personnel will need to have knowledge of new concepts, infrastructure, systems and processes involved in these new fields.

It plans to establish a safety committee of experts from across the aviation ecosystem to help develop safety measures for emerging risks or new technologies by 2025.

And by 2027, CAAS will prepare for Changi Airport’s three-runway system to start operations by carrying out a safety risk assessment and verifying that the new runway is compliant with operational requirements.

Another step fleshed out in the safety plan is the setting up of a task force by the end of 2025 to tackle the risk of radio frequency interference in the global navigation satellite system.

CAAS noted that most serious radio frequency interference incidents occur near conflict zones, but could have wider impacts.

As the global navigation satellite system supports many aircraft systems such as primary navigation functions and traffic collision avoidance systems, radio frequency interference could disrupt the communication and navigational capabilities of an aircraft.

It might result in an aircraft’s loss of situational awareness, increased risk of a mid-air collision, or the unintentional flying of an aircraft into the ground or a water body.

CAAS will certify all new infrastructure and airfield systems by 2027 to ensure safe airport operations.

These include new aerodrome lighting, taxiway guidance signs and aircraft docking guidance systems in areas such as Changi East, Changi West and Changi Creek, which will undergo development from 2025 to 2027.

The previous national aviation safety plan had flagged pandemic-related issues, such as the loss of competency of flight crew and air traffic controllers, the possible malfunctioning of aircraft after prolonged inactivity, as well as a loss of safety expertise due to cost-cutting.

CAAS said on Sept 3 that 75 per cent – or around 37 – of the 50 actions set out in the previous plan have been rolled out, and the remaining steps will require more time to be completed.

Mr Han Kok Juan, director-general of CAAS, said: “The recent spate of serious aviation safety incidents around the world is a timely reminder that we must stay vigilant and not take safety for granted.

“The National Aviation Safety Plan is a call to action for the Singapore aviation sector to work together to ensure aviation safety as we position ourselves for growth.”