W W W. S E L E TA R A I R P O R T. C O M
Celebrating a new chapter INTERVIEW Interview with Mr Ng Yeow Meng, Executive/Managing Director of WingsOverAsia
A BIANNUAL NEWSLET TER BY SELETAR AIRPORT Managed by Changi Airport Group
02 / CONTENTS
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CONTENTS
EDITORIAL TEAM Khoh Su Lim
Deputy General Manager, Seletar Airport, CAG
Ng Koon Ling
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, CAG
Regina Tee
Senior Associate, Seletar Airport Planning, CAG
Huang Jiayi
Senior Associate, Seletar Airport Planning, CAG
CONTRIBUTORS Jeffrey Tay
FEATURE STORY Celebrating a new chapter
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A SAFE SELETAR AIRPORT FOR EVERYONE Quarterly Airport Safety Awards: Towards a safe airport for everyone
Manager, Seletar Airport Ops, CAG
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Glenn Phuah
@ SELETAR • Wildlife Management • CAG Safe Tractor Driving Competition 2016
Manager, Seletar Airport Ops, CAG
Koh Yang Yang
Manager, Seletar Airport Ops, CAG
Jess Law
Assistant Manager, Seletar Airport Ops, CAG
Jessie Tan
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Senior Associate, Seletar Airport Ops, CAG
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL Mr Ng Yeow Meng, WingsOverAsia
Art Direction and Design
Unit One Studio
Seletar Insight is published biannually. Subscribe to Seletar Insight by emailing huang.jiayi@changiairport.com
Please visit our website www.seletarairport.com for more information about Seletar Airport.
Haze and Zika Virus Alerts ingapore is periodically affected by smoke haze due to forest fires in the region. During the peak of the haze situation amid the Southwest Monsoon season from June to September, CAG reaches out to our airport partners at Seletar Airport by sharing haze advisories and placing hourly updated PSI charts at key access points to keep airport users constantly updated of the haze situation. To help alleviate the situation, CAG also prepared and distributed haze packs with items such as N95 respirator masks, eye drops and lozenges to our partners at Seletar Airport. The initiative was well-
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received, and CAG will continue to work with our airport partners to further improve working conditions during the haze period. At the end of August 2016, Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed local Zika transmissions in Singapore. CAG stepped up vector control efforts at Seletar Airport to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes. The frequency of the inspection regime was doubled at susceptible locations such as the drainage, common areas, apron and airside perimeter areas. CAG also reached out to Seletar contractors and partners, to raise awareness of Zika control and
preventive measures at development project work sites around Seletar and within their workplace. Since early this year, Zika Health Alert Posters from MOH have been placed at the Immigration Hall in Seletar Airport. In addition, MOH’s health alert notices were handed out to passengers arriving from affected countries. They remind passengers arriving in Singapore from affected countries to monitor their health and consult a doctor if they have symptoms of Zika, such as fever, skin rashes, joint and muscle pains, headaches and red eyes, and to share their travel history with their doctor.
03 / FEATURE STORY
(L-R) CAAS Director-General Mr Kevin Shum, CAAS Chairman Mr Lee Hsien Yang, Guest-of-Honour Minister Khaw Boon Wan, CAG CEO Mr Lee Seow Hiang and Seletar Airport General Manager Mr See Seng Wan.
Celebrating a New Chapter n recent years, Seletar Airport has undergone major infrastructure developments. The runway has been extended, a new control tower and fire station have been built, and aircraft parking areas and new taxiways have been added. On 20 October 2016, Seletar Airport marked another major development milestone, celebrating the groundbreaking for a brand new Passenger Terminal Building (PTB). The groundbreaking ceremony, jointly organised by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG), was graced by Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport. More than 200 guests from government agencies, ground service providers and airport
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partners attended the event. In his opening address, Mr See Seng Wan, General Manager of Seletar Airport shared plans to site the new PTB at a greenfield location at the east of the runway. By operating from the eastern side, runway utilisation could be improved, as the full length eastern parallel taxiway would allow direct access to both ends of the runway,
thereby reducing runway occupancy time. Situating the new PTB nearer to the control tower and fire station would also facilitate coordination and enable faster response by ground operations teams between these two locations. When completed by end 2018, the new PTB will have a handling capacity of 700,000 passenger movements per annum.
Exterior view of the new Passenger Terminal Building.
Scheduled turboprop operations will also be shifted from Changi Airport to Seletar Airport. The departure area will have four check-in counters, four immigration counters, two security screening stations and a gate holdroom that can seat close to 200 passengers. With departure and arrival areas located at the ground floor, passengers can look forward to a fuss-free airport clearance process via a simple and straightforward route. With three new aircraft parking stands situated directly in front of the new PTB, passengers can reach the aircraft on foot, thereby allowing quick aircraft turnaround. The new PTB will also feature a dedicated business aviation channel for Business Aviation (BA) users. BA passengers will be able to enjoy quick facilitation in a private and exclusive setting, separate from scheduled flights operations in the central terminal area. This major airport development project has drawn positive feedback from Seletar Airport’s key stakeholders, who eagerly await the completion of the new facility come end-2018.
04 / A SAFE SELETAR AIRPORT FOR EVERYONE
Quarterly Airport Safety Awards: Towards a safe airport for everyone afety is the responsibility of each and every individual. Mr Mohamed Rahimin Bin Zakaria from Jet Aviation Singapore is an outstanding example of someone who takes safety seriously. He is always on the lookout for any potential safety concerns. During his break-time some months ago, Mr Rahimin noticed a refuelling truck parked in close proximity to the Smoking Area at Jet Aviation’s office on Seletar Airport landside. He had learned that smoking, and the use of mobile phones, flash cameras or any non-intrinsically safe equipment near refuelling vehicles could spark a fire or explosion. Mindful of the safety risk, Mr Rahimin quickly alerted the Seletar Airport Operations team, who immediately notified the truck driver to shift the vehicle away from the Smoking Area. His vigilance and prompt action not only prevented a potential safety incident, but also raised awareness and helped prevent future recurrence. In recognition of his contribution towards enhancing safety, he received an incentive reward under Seletar Airport’s SAFE Recognition Scheme. He was also given recognition at the inaugural Quarterly Airport Safety Awards (ASA) organised by CAG. The ASA was introduced to strengthen the safety culture in both Changi and Seletar, through recognising
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outstanding safety acts by both individuals as well as teams within the airport community. The inaugural Quarterly ASA ceremony was held on 19 August 2016, where airport staff such as Mr Rahimin, received accolades for taking the extra effort, beyond their normal scope of work, to contribute and to reinforce the safety culture in the airport. 180 stakeholders from both the Changi and Seletar airport communities attended the event to lend their support in the commitment towards enhancing safety. Building on CAG’s long standing efforts to promote safety via stakeholder engagement and outreach programmes, the ASA has been successful in giving due recognition to ‘safety stars’ among us, and will be a key calendar event to spread top-of-mind awareness for safety. Our heartiest congratulations and thank you to all our Quarterly ASA winners for keeping our airports safe! Know someone or a team from within the airport community who has performed an exemplary safety act? Honour and celebrate these heroes! Winners of the Quarterly ASA will receive either S$200 or S$500 Changi Dollar Vouchers (CDV), a trophy and a certificate of commendation. If your nominated personality becomes a winner, you will receive S$50 CDV too! Email safety@changiairport.com for the nomination forms.
05 / @ SELETAR - EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS
Wildlife Management irds first took flight about 150 million years ago while humans began to share this airspace only some 100 years ago. However, when aircraft and birds use the same airspace at the same time, there lies the danger of collisions, also known as bird strikes. Wildlife is often attracted to an airport environment due to the presence of desirable conditions – food, water and shelter. Factors such as air traffic type and volume, local and migratory wildlife populations, and local wildlife habitat conditions also contribute to the nature and magnitude of the wildlife problem Seletar Airport faces. An increase of air traffic and wildlife population around the airport increases the probability of bird and other wildlife strikes. Over the past few years, CAG has been collecting data on all the above factors to better understand the wildlife hazards present in Seletar Airport. Various wildlife management measures were also tested for effectiveness.
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WI L DL IFE M A NAG E M E NT M EASUR E S TE S TE D AT SEL E TA R A IRPO RT
Irri-tape A holographic foil tape which reflects constantly changing light and makes noise when it flaps in the wind, thus scaring birds away. Aero -laser Laser beam is used to mimic physical danger and scare birds away. Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) Bio-acoustic sounds are applied to chase birds away. Bird -deterrent grass chemical The chemical acts as a bird repellent and keeps birds away from the grass fields.
After a series of trials, CAG has now adopted LRAD and bird-deterrent grass chemical as part of its wildlife management measures at Seletar Airport. The Seletar Airside Operations team also inspects airfield facilities to identify possible wildlife access points. Where facilities or properties owned by external parties are identified to pose a potential wildlife hazard risk to the aerodrome, CAG will reach out to the relevant party to discuss ways to mitigate the risk. For example, CAG has successfully worked with Public Utilities Board (PUB) to install an anti-perching device on a PUB facility near the northern takeoff and approach corridor to reduce the presence of birds. Moving forward, CAG will pursue efforts to keep close watch on the wildlife situation, and to apply appropriate measures, both existing and new, to mitigate any potential wildlife hazards at Seletar Airport.
Safe Tractor Driving Competition 2016 s part of CAG’s continuous effort to promote safe driving at both Changi and Seletar airports, the first-ever Safe Tractor Driving Competition was held at Changi Airport on 27 October 2016. The competition which had a total of 171 participants was open to all licensed tractor drivers from ground handling partners. Participants in the final round of the competition had to complete two challenging circuits with accuracy and speed while keeping safety in mind. Seletar Airport was represented by Ground Service
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Providers (GSPs) from Hawker Pacific, ST Aerospace Engineering and Universal Aviation. They formed two teams under ‘Team Seletar’ and participated in both the individual and team events. Through this fun and engaging challenge, participants learned and demonstrated various safe driving practices. In the individual category, Mr Seet Kian Tat from ST Aerospace Engineering made Seletar Airport proud by emerging as the second runner up. Congratulations to Mr Seet and Team Seletar!
06 / UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
WingsOverAsia, Soaring into the Skies Interview with Mr Ng Yeow Meng, Executive/Managing Director of WingsOverAsia
Congratulations on the opening of your new facility! For starters, can you share with us the history of WingsOverAsia (WOA)?
Whenever I tried to engage in private flying in Asia, I observed little awareness on the perils and joys of private flying, a lack of private aviation community interaction and knowledge sharing, especially on procedures for private international flights. I decided to leverage on emerging social networking and information sharing technologies to develop WingsOverAsia.com as a platform for building a private aviation community for Asia. WingsOverAsia.com started off as a simple blog in 2003 and slowly evolved into a Facebook-like social networking website that provided free interaction amongst members by 2006. Through this platform,
the WingsOverAsia flying community was formed, and news about its existence was spreading quickly by word of mouth. As the virtual community grew, we took things offline by organising activities such as flying tours, social gatherings, seminars and workshops to facilitate information sharing and networking across different cultures and geography. In 2010, Club WOA – Asia’s first dedicated aviation lifestyle concierge membership – was launched. Sales and marketing partnership with aircraft OEMs grew significantly. Soon after, WOA began forming a team to support the logistical and operational challenges faced by Seletar-based private aircraft owners on a day-today basis.
WOA has grown from strength to strength since its founding in
2003, with a strong footprint in Seletar Aerospace Park today providing flight support and ground handling services. Looking back, what are some of the key challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
The path taken was like a glacier trek with never-ending undulating terrain. To start with, a lack of awareness for private flying had left a vacuum in community interaction and knowledge sharing amongst private operators. Secondly, creations of systems and structures that support the growth of private aviation had been on a lower priority. This created a challenging climate for the sustainability of private aviation services providers, and thus hampered growth. Civil aviation regulatory framework, policy formulation and operations assets of airport and related
facilities in Asia are also often prioritised towards Asia’s fledging scheduled airlines needs. As such, nonscheduled private operators have to adapt to the airline environment. This observation thus defined WOA’s philosophy and approach: educating, facilitating and investing in processes that enable private operators to co-exist safely and efficiently within airports and in the airspace shared with the airlines.
What is your vision for WOA in another 10-20 years?
Going forward, we will focus on our relentless pursuit of having innovative, consistent and reliable processes to deliver services while meeting industry safety standards. We intend to continuously evolve our service concepts to craft a suite of aviation lifestyle services and strive to blend global best practices into our delivery methods. In 10 to 20 years, WOA should not be just a go-to place to seek transportation needs, but an experience that fulfils people’s aspirations.
As an aviation enthusiast, what advice would you give to the new generation with keen interest in this exciting field?
The first step is always the hardest; stop thinking about it and try it. Thereafter, the key is to not be a captive of the environment you first find yourself in. Learn to fish and be resourceful, take initiative to network with fellow aviation professionals and participate in social activities and industry engagement to learn from others. As far as flying goes, the world is without boundaries.