Airlines adopt new rules to avoid crew fatigue

New flight rostering rules have been imposed on all Singapore carriers, in line with a global push to ensure accidents do not happen because of crew fatigue.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) introduced the changes in June, following a major review which included discussions with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and other local carriers, The Straits Times has discovered.

The move comes at a time when Asia is experiencing a growing number of flights, which experts believe could put a strain on manpower resources. Among the revisions is one which demands that pilots do not handle more than two night flights a week.

When determining rest periods in between flights, airlines must also consider whether the flights before and after are operated in the day or night.

The rule takes into account the fact that the body does not react and adjust to situations in the same way throughout the day.

Airlines are now also required to monitor their crew closely to ensure that they are performing at the highest level of alertness during duty hours, and submit regular reports to the CAAS.

Before the changes, airlines' typical approach to managing crew fatigue had been to set limits on maximum daily, monthly and yearly flight and duty hours, and mandate minimum breaks within and between duty periods.

The general rule of thumb was a minimum 10 hours' rest after being on duty for under 10 hours. For longer flights, the rest period had to be at least as long as the duty time.

Setting such arbitrary limits that are not founded on research and science is an ineffective way to manage crew, according to the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Air Transport Association which are leading the global move for airlines to review their policies.

A CAAS spokesman said this is an important area of focus "as fatigue is recognised as a major human factor element that affects crew members' (flight and cabin crew) ability to do their job".

So far this has not been the main cause in any incidents at Changi Airport but it has been a "contributory factor in some", though the spokesman would not elaborate further.

SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides said the airline supports the changes, calling them a step forward in ongoing initiatives to enhance operations and ensure an "appropriate level of alertness for crew". He added that rosters have already been adjusted to reflect the changes.

The Tokyo-Los Angeles flight, for example, used to be operated by one captain and two first officers, with all three crew required to be in the cockpit throughout the flight. Now, it is two captains and a first officer, with two of them on the flight deck at any one point while the third rests.

The changes do not impact the overall number of pilots needed, Mr Ionides said.

Captain William Teng, chairman of the SIA branch of the Air Line Pilots Association (Alpa-S), said: "The changes are timely, given that we now operate more longer sectors with planes that can fly farther than when the rules were first drawn up several decades ago."

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SIA-Air New Zealand proposed alliance gets CCS nod

The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) has given the green light for the proposed strategic alliance between Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Air New Zealand to go ahead.

In a statement on Thursday, CCS said it finds that the proposed strategic alliance could raise competition concerns, but these would be offset by net economic benefits to Singapore.

Its decision followed a review of the submissions provided by the parties concerned and various stakeholders, including the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport Group.

Under the proposed tie-up announced in January, the two carriers plan to increase services between Singapore and New Zealand to tap the growing tourism traffic in the Asia Pacific and the Southwest Pacific markets.

It will allow Air New Zealand passengers to access codeshare travel on the SIA network to Europe, Africa and other parts of Southeast Asia.

In return, SIA customers can travel across Air New Zealand's domestic network and other Pacific destinations.

In response to Thursday's decision by the CCS, SIA said it is pleased that CCS has cleared the proposed alliance.

The strategic alliance remains subject to approval from New Zealand’s Minister of Transport.

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CAAS studies new US rules that let passengers use devices on all flight stages

Singapore could lift curbs on the use of laptops, mobile phones and other electronic devices during all stages of a flight, following an easing of the rules by the United States.

Such a change would mean that these devices can be used not only above 10,000 feet but also below it, which means travellers do not have to switch them off during take-off and landing.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) yesterday said it is studying the new US guidelines to assess whether it is feasible to implement them.

Safety will be the top priority, its spokesman told The Straits Times: "The baseline for any regulatory change is that an equivalent level of safety must be maintained."

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No significant delays in flight departures & arrivals: CAAS

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Monday said there have been no significant delays in aircraft departures and arrivals despite the haze situation in the country.

As a precaution, airfield lights are turned on in the daytime to enhance the visibility of runways.

Changi Airport can allow aircraft to land safely when the runway visual range is more than 550 metres.

But with more stringent measures, aircraft can still land if the visual range is between 300 and 550 metres.

The measures include putting on standby secondary power supply for essential equipment, such as runway lights, and allowing more time between aircraft landings and take-offs.

Authorities said with reduced visibility, some delays and disruptions to aircraft operations, including flight cancellations, could be expected.

If the visual range falls below 300 metres, CAAS said Changi Airport will not be able to accept aircraft landings for safety reasons.

But planes can continue to take off safely, in accordance with each airline's policy.

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Judging by this article, it seems that Changi Airport is only capable of ILS Cat 2 landing of RVR 300-550 metres. Well done to the airport controllers and such for a cool handling of the haze situation.

CAAS allows more time between flight takeoffs and landings due to haze

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said its air traffic controllers are allowing more time between flight takeoffs and landings because of visibility concerns.

Responding to queries from MediaCorp News, CAAS said this is to ensure the safety of flight operations at Changi Airport.

CAAS explained that the Runway Visual Range (RVR) reading has dropped to levels lower than 1500 metres due to the haze shrouding the country.

RVR is a measurement of the horizontal visibility along the runway or the range over which the pilot of an aircraft can see along the runway.

CAAS said a high PSI may cause the RVR value to fall and therefore may impact flight operations.

CAAS added that Changi Airport has facilities and procedures to allow safe landing of aircraft in low visibility conditions in accordance with international standards.

CAAS noted that there have not been any significant delays in flight departures and arrivals even with the added precautionary step taken.

It said during the prolonged period of haze in 1997, the lowest RVR reading at Changi Airport was about 800 metres.

Changi Airport remained open for flight operations at that time.

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Visibility dropping below 1500m is quite a significant change considering Singapore usually experience pretty fair weather. The haze situation here is pretty bad with the forests still burning in Sumatra, and it is expect to continue for the rest of this week. But passengers need not worry, the instruments will be the pilots' eyes, reducing the chance of human error causing any mishap.

Stray plane delays 10 flights

For almost 40 minutes on Thursday, a runway at Changi Airport had to be shut down and 10 flights delayed because an aircraft being towed somehow strayed onto a taxiway.

The New Paper understands that the aircraft, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300, was being moved from a boarding gate at Terminal 3 when it was towed too quickly and accidentally entered the taxiway near the runway.

The incident, which happened around 12.30pm, was considered a case of runway incursion and, as a result, the runway was closed, delaying six arrivals and four departures.

One of the worst air disasters in history was the result of a runway incursion.

That happened in 1977, when a KLM flight attempted to take off while a Pan Am aircraft was still on the runway at an airport in Tenerife, Spain. The two planes collided, killing 583 people.

All runway incursions are seen as serious incidents.

Mr Paul Yap, a 42-year-old lecturer and course manager of Temasek Polytechnic's Diploma in Aviation Management and Services, said such incidents are very rare at Changi Airport.

He said: "There are many measures put in place to prevent such an incident from happening but, of course, human error can occur.

Controlled areas

"Runways and taxiways are all controlled areas and permission is needed from air traffic control to enter these areas."

He added that while such incidents may not lead to loss of life, possible consequences include damage to aircraft should they come into contact with other aircraft or vehicles.

Passengers would also be inconvenienced because of delays.

When asked about a possible reason the runway was closed for so long, Mr Yap said: "It could have taken some time to remove the aircraft from the narrow taxiway."

Mr Yap had held various posts at Changi Airport over seven years before joining Temasek Polytechnic.

When contacted, a Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore spokesman said the matter was being reviewed.

"We can confirm that no danger was posed to surrounding aircraft or personnel at Changi Airport."

An SIA Engineering Company spokesman said: "We are assisting the relevant authorities in reviewing the matter."

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Very careless move by the airport worker responsible for the towing of the aircraft. Such incidents should not be occurring in a high standard airport like Changi Airport. More measures will have to be implemented in order to prevent this from happening again.

New institute to tackle air traffic congestion

Changi Airport will get a boost when a new research institute starts work to help better manage the congested skies here.

The Air Traffic Management Research Institute, which will be officially launched by the start of next year, will zoom in on ways to handle the increasingly crowded and complex air traffic conditions faced by the airport.

These could lead to air traffic controllers being able to minimise flight disruptions caused by adverse weather and reduce the distance between aircraft in the air.

This will, in turn, help expand Changi's aircraft handling capacity by some 40 per cent, in line with projections that air traffic will grow 4 per cent to 5 per cent a year in the next 10 years.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) inked an agreement on Tuesday with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to set up the institute.

Last Wednesday, CAAS said it will pump in $50 million while NTU will make a $22 million in-kind contribution over the next five years. The money will fund postgraduate projects chosen in the next six months.

Research will focus on weather forecasting and information management, air-to-ground traffic management, devising safe, efficient aircraft-to-aircraft separation methods, increasing automation and reducing human error.

NTU deputy president and provost Freddy Boey said possible tie-ups could include the US Federal Aviation Authority and renowned schools such as Technical University Munich and Georgia Institute of Technology.

The research institute will draw air traffic management researchers and those who run airport operations. While it will take time to yield results, CAAS assistant director-general Soh Poh Theen hopes to see some "quick wins or successes for operational efficiency" that can be applied in Changi's daily operations.

Breakthroughs can be shared with other Asia-Pacific countries, cementing Singapore's status as an air traffic management hub, said CAAS director-general Yap Ong Heng.

Research efforts to upgrade Singapore's long-term, air traffic management are taking off at a time when CAAS is putting in place moves to increase air traffic capacity to meet Changi's needs.

The research institute is also part of Singapore's efforts to plough $200 million into air traffic management research.

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Good initiative by CAAS to set up the institute. It is also good news for fellow aviation enthusiasts to enroll themselves into the institute by NTU to help further boost the sector. Air traffic in Singapore is only going to get more congested, with the forth terminal to be completed in 2017.

Changi has potential to grow air traffic till at least 2018

Singapore's Changi Airport has the potential to handle 430,000 aircraft movements annually.

That is about 40 per cent more aircraft movements than the 302,000 handled last year.

Based on a study by UK air traffic experts, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) says Changi has sufficient capacity to grow air traffic further till at least 2018.

Changi currently operates on a two-runway system, just like London's Heathrow airport - touted to be the world's busiest dual-runway airport.

A study commissioned by CAAS concluded that Changi Airport has the potential to handle up to 430,000 aircraft movements annually.

That is about 90 percent of what Heathrow can handle.

CAAS director-general Yap Ong Heng said: "Changi Airport can continue to grow. More airlines can operate at Changi and increase their operations. This will be a key factor in the deliberations of the Changi 2036 Steering Committee when it looks at the future plans for the airport."

Authorities expect aircraft movements at Changi to exceed 320,000 this year.

And the study supports the view that there is sufficient air traffic capacity till 2018, with a projected average growth of 5 percent.

Observers say this means authorities will have to look at opening a third runway to cater to demand.

Standard & Poor's aviation analyst Shukor Yusof said: "There are two runways at Changi now. With the increased number of aircraft movements, air traffic and passenger, is there a need to open a third runway? That's a question that they will need to look at, because (with) growing budget airlines operations, you have seen aircraft movements grow higher and passenger numbers (too).

"For now, it's enough. (Come) 2015, there's the open skies agreement, there are more budget airlines coming in and expanding. AirAsia has ordered another 100 planes. So you know, based on the current market environment, there is a pressing need to quickly decide on an extra runway."

The study by UK NATS, the air navigation service provider of the UK, also considered measures to increase air traffic efficiency implemented since the start of this year.

They include cutting the interval for take-off from 120 seconds to 90 seconds, reducing the scheduled closures of a runway by leveraging on IT systems and reconfiguring flight routes to improve predictability.

With the measures implemented, CAAS says the number of flights taking off on time has improved by about 50 percent in the last six months.

More measures are in the pipeline, such that even when with more aircraft movements, efficiency and safety will not be compromised.

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Currently Changi Airport is not fulfilling its true potential. And with many plane departures reportedly not being able to take-off on time, there has been calls to build a third runway to cope with the increasing traffic.

However, with this new find, the third runway can wait. It still has the capacity to handle 40% more traffic till at least 2018. The future is the world of the Low Cost Carriers. Come 2015, we will only get busier.