Singapore Changi Airport's Terminal 4 welcomes first flight

Changi Airport's Terminal 4 welcomes first flight



Changi Airport's Terminal 4, which opened on Tuesday (Oct 31), welcomed its first flight as Cathay Pacific Airways CX659 from Hong Kong landed at 5.25am.

Passengers who were on the flight were given a goodie tote bag containing a plush toy, fan, and cardholder. They also received orchids upon disembarking from the plane and were greeted with a performance by local instrumental band Lorong Boys at the baggage belt.

One passenger, Mdm Rameza, said: "It was very good. There were live performances and goodies, and operations were very smooth."

Another passenger, Mr Mohammed Hossenbux, said: "The whole process was very efficient. It only took me 15 minutes to walk from the plane exit to get out of here (arrival hall)."

The new terminal features start-to-end self-service systems, allowing travellers to check in, deposit their baggage and even go through immigration via automated systems.

At 225,000 sqm, Terminal 4 is only about half the size of Terminal 3, making it Changi Airport's smallest terminal. But once fully operational, it will be expected to handle 16 million passengers a year - about 70 per cent of T3's handling capacity.

Along with Cathay Pacific Airways, Korean Air also commenced operations at the new terminal on Tuesday. This will be followed by Cebu Pacific and Spring Airlines on Nov 2, and AirAsia and Vietnam Airlines on Nov 7.

~News courtesy of Channel News Asia~

Malaysia: RM1 flight levy starts January 2018

RM1 flight levy starts January 2018

ALL passengers leaving Malaysia by air will have to pay a levy of up to RM1 from January, following changes to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) Act 2015.

“The Government spent almost RM30mil on Mavcom’s operational costs last year. The levy for air travellers is justified, considering the services Mavcom provides, which range from receiving and processing complaints to conducting educational activities,” he said.

The changes to the law also allows Mavcom to impose penalties for any non-compliance over guidelines on competition, regulatory fees and charges.

~News courtesy of The Star~

新加坡第四搭客大厦准备就绪 下星期迎接首批旅客

新加坡第四搭客大厦准备就绪 下星期迎接首批旅客

不论是充满嘉年华气息的巧克力专卖店，或是依照六七十年代咖啡店打造的咖啡厅，樟宜机场集团与业者合作，在第四搭客大厦的零售店面下足功夫，希望为旅客带来不一样的体验。

第四搭客大厦（Terminal 4，简称T4）今午进行最后一次总彩排，动员1500名职员、租户和义工，测试整套“快捷与顺畅通行”（Fast and Seamless Travel，简称FAST）措施、安检系统和餐饮运作等，准备下周二（31日）正式投入运作。

樟宜机场集团执行副总裁（机场管理）陈来德说，T4已准备就绪，也期待在下星期迎接首批乘客。

T4今午也进行了一场火警演习，以确保工作人员熟悉搭客大厦的防火安全措施。至今，机场紧急服务已进行了八次火警演习，最早是在2014年8月，即T4仍在施工的阶段。

樟宜机场集团在文告中提到，民防部队已完成对T4的评估，确定建筑能安全使用。

基于有Alubond品牌的外墙覆板早前被发现不达标，樟宜机场集团为安全起见，采取额外措施，将外墙覆板的样本送去检验。其中，所使用的Alubond合成覆板符合消防条例，另一个品牌Alpolic的样本检验结果几个月后才会知道。

~联合早报网~

新航：直飞美国乘客应更早到机场接受安检

新航：直飞美国乘客应更早到机场接受安检

美国对飞抵境内机场航班加强安检，新航提醒直飞美国的乘客，提早到机场办理登机，以确保有充足时间完成安检。

美国国土安全部在今年6月28日宣布，为了防止恐怖袭击，将对所有飞抵美国的航班实施更严格的安检标准。若航空公司和机场加以配合，就不须要禁止乘客随身携带体积大于手机的电子设备上飞机。

新措施主要包括全面加强乘客安检、加强个人电子设备检查、提升飞机周边和乘客区域的安全标准、使用更先进的安检设备以及扩大警犬的安检范围等。

新措施涉及105个国家、约280个机场、180家航空公司。按每天2100趟直飞美国的航班计算，一天大约会影响约32万5000人次的旅客。

美国国土安全部给予外国航空公司120天的时间落实新安检措施，期限今天（10月25日）到期。

新加坡航空公司今早10时在网站上发布文告说，直飞美国的航班必须接受更严格的安全检查，因此建议乘客查询办理登机手续柜台的营业时间，以及提早到机场，确保有充足时间完成安检。

～以上新闻转自联合早报网～

Asean to open skies further

Asean to open skies further

Asean countries signed the protocol to put into place a package of commitments to further liberalise air transport services in the region.

At the 23rd Asean Transport Ministers Meeting, the countries also agreed to improve connectivity among member states.

Transport ministers and senior officials from Asean member countries attended the two-day meeting. Also present were dialogue partners from China, Japan and South Korea.

Among the highlights of the meeting was the conclusion of the “tenth package of commitments on air transport services under the Asean Framework of Services”.

Liow said the ministers also signed the protocol of domestic code-share rights, allowing code­-sharing arrangements between the marketing airline and domestic airline in Asean member countries.

“This would increase connectivity between Malaysia and other Asean member states.

“At the same time, it would enable designated airlines of Malaysia to offer their passengers a wide range of travel options which can extend beyond the airlines’ own network and route structure,” he added.

Liow said the ministers signed the Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Flight Crew Licensing, which would facilitate air services to complement liberalisation efforts in Asean, and ensure the highest degree of security in international air transport.

They also reached an agreement on the Facilitation of Cross Border Transport of Passengers by Road Vehicles.

“This is to promote seamless cross-border mobility of passengers between Asean member states,” said Liow.

He added that the ministers had concluded the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the authorities in charge of aircraft accident investigation under the Asean-China partnership.

“This agreement would further strengthen Malaysia’s cooperation with China in relation to aircraft accident and incident investigations, sharing experiences and expertise in various specialist fields, equipment and research,” he said.

~News courtesy of The Star~

开放联号航运权 亚细安区内航班选择增多

开放联号航运权 亚细安区内航班选择增多

亚细安成员国将开放各自的国内联号航运权，让在亚细安区域内飞行的航班共享班号。如此一来，航空公司可在不使用旗下飞机的情况下，扩大跨国飞行网络，为搭客提供更多航班选择。这也有助促进亚细安各国人民和货物的流通，有利于经济与商业发展，也能扩展旅游业。

过去两天在我国举行的第23届亚细安交通部长会议昨天结束，与会国在本次会议中签署了五项协议，并采纳六项计划，重申致力于加强亚细安成员国与对话伙伴国之间交通合作的承诺。

这包括进一步开放区内的航空服务、改善亚细安航空飞行的安全和效率，以及促进乘客的无缝跨境流动。

各国部长昨天签订两项开放航空服务的协议，其中包括开放联号航运（code-share）权，让在亚细安区域内飞行的航班都能提供联号航运服务，搭客也能享有较便利的转机登机与行李托运服务。

例如，一家本地航空公司和一家泰国航空公司合作提供联号航运服务，搭客只需订购一次机票，便能先飞往曼谷，再转国内航班到泰国的另一目的地。同样的，原本不直飞本地的泰国航空公司，也能让搭客通过一次订票，先飞曼谷再转飞新加坡。

另一项协议则是在亚细安服务业框架协议（ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services，简称AFAS）下，落实第10项配套，以求逐步减少亚细安航空运输辅助服务的贸易限制。新加坡将对提供销售与营销航空运输服务的公司，提高它们所能允许的最高海外股本参与率，从51％提高到70％。

此外，各国采纳了亚细安航空交通管理总体规划，目的是打造无缝的亚细安空中交通，以更一体化的方式改善区域的航空流量。一旦全面落实，料将改善航空交通管理与安全，空域容量也能增加，航班延误的情况因此有望减少，航空公司的运作成本也会降低。

各国也签署了协议，相互承认对方颁发的机组人员执照。

成员国各500辆客运巴士 可享简化出入境要求

在陆路交通方面，亚细安成员国签署了促进陆路客运跨境的亚细安框架协议，方便客运巴士在各国之间跨境穿行。

按照这项协议，每个成员国都有500辆巴士的配额，可享有简化出入境的要求。这些必须是非固定行程的客运巴士，如旅游巴士。固定行程的跨境巴士在路线、停靠站、巴士数量、技术要求及车费方面，仍得取得邻国的同意。

与对话伙伴国的合作方面，亚细安将与中国加强在航空事故调查的合作。

负责调查航空事故的官方机构与中国民用航空局签署了谅解备忘录，同意相互分享调查航空事故方面的设施与专才资源，也相互提供培训、分享安全资料，及安排观察员参与调查等。这有助提升调查员的能力与专业水平。

基础建设统筹部长兼交通部长许文远为会议主持闭幕式时说：“我们对亚细安交通合作的承诺将助我们实现‘2020年亚细安愿景’，以及‘2025年亚细安互联互通总体规划’。这将提高人民的生活质量，制造良好的就业机会，也能为区域带来稳定与和平。”

第24届亚细安交通部长会议明年将于泰国举行。

~联合早报网~