Airplanes and helicopters await the opening of the Singapore Air Show on February 13, 2022 (AFP/Roslan RAHMAN)
Asia’s biggest air show opens in Singapore on Tuesday in hopes that 2022 will bring a resumption of air traffic, especially for airlines in the region still hard hit by strict measures to combat the coronavirus. Covid.
Hundreds of airlines, aircraft manufacturers and industry players will take part in this event, which runs until Friday.
Two years after its appearance, the pandemic continues to affect the air sector, especially in Asia-Pacific, even if countries such as Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia have started to reopen their borders to foreign tourists.
Unlike Europe and the United States, tourists and business travelers are still not allowed to travel to certain countries, such as China, Japan and Hong Kong, where mandatory quarantines remain in place. vigor.
An Airbus A350-1000 flies over a sign announcing the Singapore Airshow on February 13, 2022 (AFP/Roslan RAHMAN)
“When restrictions were eased in North America and Europe, we saw a very, very strong recovery,” said Anand Stanley, head of Asia-Pacific for Airbus.
“Asia must move in this direction. We still have quarantines, border closures. These (measures) must be lifted to restore freedom of movement and a return of demand”.
Airlines in the region carried 16.7 million passengers last year, just 4.4% of the volumes seen in 2019, according to the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
– “Many obstacles” remain –
The still difficult situation in this sector is also reflected in the number of participants in this show: around 600 companies will take part, compared to more than 900 during the previous edition in 2020.
An Airbus A350-1000 flies on February 13, 2022 ahead of the Singapore Air Show (AFP/Roslan RAHMAN)
Due to a rebound in the Covid-19 epidemic in Singapore, participants will be required to undergo daily screening tests. The public will not be allowed to attend the aerial demonstrations, the authorities seeking to reduce the risk of contamination, and the aerobatic shows will be broadcast live.
The main players in the sector such as Boeing, Airbus and the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce will however be present, and the show will be one of the rare opportunities for players in the sector to physically meet potential customers.
“The event remains a place to find solutions so that we can be ready for recovery,” said Leck Chet Lam, general manager of the organizing company, Experia Events.
“We are starting to see some encouraging signs in the industry… Passenger numbers are up, flight frequency is up,” he said.
An Indian Air Force Tejas light fighter jet performs a demonstration flight ahead of the Singapore Airshow on February 13, 2022 (AFP/Roslan RAHMAN)
For aeronautical professionals, the only way for Asia to reconnect with the recovery is for the authorities of the various countries in the region to finally abandon the restrictions and decide to live with the Covid-19.
“We need governments to pull themselves together,” said Alex Feldman, head of Southeast Asia for US aircraft maker Boeing.
They must “coordinate and simplify health measures for travel”, he added.
Shukor Yusof, an analyst at Malaysia-based Endau Analytics, doubts the recovery will start this year.
“There are still many hurdles for airlines to overcome,” he told AFP. “There has been little effort to streamline air travel, let alone put in place a new policy in the run-up to a post-Covid era.”
© 2022 AFP
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