A recent dialogue saw a mutual agreement between Singapore and Japan’s aviation authorities to work together towards initiating greener air lanes between the two countries.
At the 2nd Singapore-Japan Dialogue on Aviation Collaboration, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) shared the same view that the concept of an ‘aviation green lane’ should encompass airline operations, airport processes and air traffic management (ATM).
The two are planning green ATM measures on all flights between Singapore and Tokyo, which will save fuel, cut carbon emissions, and reduce flight times. This follows a successful one-month trial in June 2023 whereby CAAS and JCAB implemented green ATM for one daily passenger service.
Another initiative proposed for greener air traffic management is expanding the multi-regional trajectory-based operations (TBO) project to more air navigation service providers (ANSPs). Last month, ANSPs of Singapore, Japan, Thailand, the United States and Boeing saw the first successful multi-regional TBO demonstration flight, part of a 3-year collaboration to advance the concept and bring about significant benefits for airspace users, including greater flight efficiencies and reductions in carbon emissions.
CAAS said these ATM concepts would complement the current push for SAF, which it considers he key element to achieve carbon neutrality for aviation, but the two warned that there would have to be sufficient supply and competitive pricing in the Asia Pacific region.
Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General of the CAAS, explained that the collaboration on green ATM establishes tangible measures that can be immediately implemented and translate to immediate fuel and carbon emission savings.
“These measures can be scaled up to cover more flights and serve as a pathfinder for wider adoption by more countries. With the successful conclusion of the green ATM trial and the extension of green ATM measures to all flights between Singapore and Tokyo, Singapore and Japan show that green ATM can complement sustainable aviation fuel as a key feature of an aviation green lane.”
On other important areas, the two civil aviation authorities will share best practices on fostering a positive safety culture and leveraging technology to overcome manpower shortage and raise productivity.
The two have also agreed on the necessity to resume flights and city links to meet strong demand with plans to restore direct flights between Singapore and Okinawa from November 2023.
The two sides first signed a strategic framework agreement in December 2022 to advance their civil aviation collaboration. As of July 2023, the number of weekly flights between Singapore and Japan has recovered to over 65 percent of pre-Covid level in 2019, with 122 weekly passenger services operated by six air carriers on city links to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo.