CAAS Steps Up Drive to Boost Changi Airport’s Productivity

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is to roll out two airport-wide initiatives in collaboration with its partners to boost Changi Airport’s productivity.

A key thrust to this productivity drive is to accelerate the adoption of technology to transform airport processes and reduce reliance on manpower.

Director-General of CAAS, Mr Kevin Shum, said, “As we face an increasingly challenging aviation landscape, CAAS is committed to driving greater airport innovation and operational efficiency. This will ensure continual delivery of high service standards at Changi and help uphold its hub competitiveness. Working with our partners is key to enabling Singapore Aviation to capitalise on growth opportunities together as one aviation community.”

Smart Apron

CAAS and Changi Airport Group (CAG) will invest more than $20 million to drive the Smart Apron initiative over the next six years.

CAG will be installing an airport-wide wireless (Wi-Fi) communication network in the apron area, covering all aircraft stands at Terminals 1 to 4 as well as remote and cargo aircraft stands.

This 190ha coverage area, nearly twice the size of Gardens by the Bay, will provide a new platform for airport companies to innovate and drive productivity and transformation in airside operations.

dnata, SATS and SIAEC will be the first adopters of the new network. Current plans to develop and roll out new applications to boost productivity include a wider deployment of mobile devices to staff from less than 1,000 currently to over 3,500 eventually.

Ground staff will have access to real-time data and work instructions, reducing information search time and allowing them to respond quickly to operational changes.

The network will also enable wider adoption of track and trace technology which will give ground staff real time visibility over the location of resources such as vehicles and equipment.

Self Service

In addition, CAAS will be investing $15 million over the next four years to further encourage airlines’ adoption of self-service passenger processes at Changi Airport.

The Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) Fund is triple the amount of the previous Passenger Self Service Adoption Programme (PSAP). It will award grants, valued from $400,000 to $2.5 million, to airlines to offset costs involved in implementing self-service initiatives such as check-in kiosks, bag drop systems, and self-boarding gates.

The previous PSAP, which was first launched in 2013, enabled more airlines to embark on self-service passenger processes, leading to a reduction in the number of ground staff required as well as an enhanced service experience for passengers.

The self-service drive will harness technology in raising productivity and enhance passenger handling capacity, while enabling greater passenger autonomy in the travel process. It also complements CAG’s FAST initiative launched in 2014, which aims to implement a complete suite of self-service and automated processes at the airport.

About 2,000 Passenger Service Agents (PSAs) will benefit from job redesign and enlargement efforts arising from the implementation of FAST Travel.

Mr Lee Seow Hiang, Chief Executive Officer of CAG, said, “The funding support CAAS has committed for the two programmes will augment CAG’s ongoing efforts at enhancing operational efficiencies and passenger convenience at Changi Airport. CAG has been consulting closely with our partners to map out their needs based on a broader Wi-Fi scope at the airside. This will realise greater efficiencies in existing areas such as aircraft servicing, while enabling new capabilities like location tracking and video streaming.
8 “The FAST Fund will accelerate the roll-out of our FAST@ Changi initiative, which has gained steady traction with passengers as more airlines joined the FAST family over the past year. With the funding support and the increasing familiarity of travellers about self-service options, we invite more airlines to come onboard FAST@Changi to bring about an enhanced travel experience for their passengers.”

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