Singapore has set up an Air Traffic Rights Committee (ATRC) to allocate the Government’s air traffic rights amongst Singapore carriers. The establishment of the Committee will pave the way for the potential entry of new Singapore carriers. This is in line with the practices of other countries with more than one carrier, e.g. the US, UK and Australia.

Air Services Agreements govern international airline operations, and are negotiated bilaterally between governments. Thus far, Singapore’s bank of air traffic rights has been used only by the SIA Group. With the potential entry of new Singapore-registered carrier(s), the ATRC is established to allocate Singapore’s air traffic rights in a manner that maximises both the interests of Singapore as a nation as well as the benefits to the public.

The ATRC is headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, and includes senior representatives from various government agencies like the Singapore Tourism Board, Economic Development Board, International Enterprise Singapore, Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. The members have been appointed for a term of 2 years, and a list of the members is at Annex.

To make an application for available traffic rights, the ATRC will require an airline to first obtain a valid Air Operators Certificate certifying the airline’s ability to conduct safe aircraft operations for public transportation. The airline must also satisfy the necessary conditions under the relevant Air Services Agreement and have sufficient financial resources to operate the proposed air services. Should there be competing requests, the ATRC will make a decision based on various considerations like how the proposed air services would contribute to Singapore’s air hub, promotion of competition and consumer benefits.

All new rights granted by the ATRC will have a validity period of up to 5 years. However, any rights that are not used for a period of more than 6 months or rights for operations that are unable to meet the pre-determined performance criteria will be returned to the pool for reallocation. The performance criteria for each carrier’s operations will be based on the business proposals submitted by the carrier, and subsequently approved by ATRC.

In recognition of the role that the SIA Group has played in building Singapore into an aviation hub, the SIA Group will retain its existing air traffic rights under a 10-year licence. This licence will be renewed for a period of up to 5 years upon expiry as long as the SIA Group continues to make good use of the rights to contribute effectively to Singapore as an aviation hub. The same "use-it-or-lose-it" principle will, however, be applied to these existing rights allocated to the SIA Group.

Singapore currently has Air Services Agreements with over 90 countries, and there are adequate air traffic rights for potential new carriers to carry out viable operations. The Government will continue to actively engage other countries to liberalise our Air Services Agreements and expand our bank of air traffic rights to give Singapore carriers maximum flexibility in their operations and expansion plans.

The ATRC was formed by gazetting subsidiary legislation, called "Air Navigation (Licensing of Air Services) (Amendment) Regulations 2003" under the Air Navigation Act. The legislation was gazetted today, and can be found at: http://www.egazette.com.sg/egazette/current.asp

 Chairman

Mr Peter Ong
Permanent Secretary (Transport)
Ministry of Transport

Members

Mr Teo Ming Kian
Chairman
Economic Development Board

Mr Lim Neo Chian
Dy Chairman/Chief Executive
Singapore Tourism Board

Mr Lee Yi Shyan
Chief Executive
International Enterprise Singapore

Mr Wong Woon Liong
Director-General
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore

Mr Lee Seiu Kin
2nd Solicitor General
Attorney-General’s Chambers

Mr Jaspal Singh
Deputy Secretary (Transport)
Ministry of Transport