Singapore sees safe reopening of Changi as key to survival

Singapore is prioritizing safely reopening its borders this year and nailing down Changi Airport’s position as an international hub when travel recovers from the pandemic, otherwise “we will be bereft,” Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said in Parliament on Friday. “Our mission this year is not so much to force this sharp recovery of the aviation sector, but to adapt to a new normal, to reopen safely and build up confidence, to test workable concepts and to strengthen the belief that Changi Airport will still be an international air hub post-Covid-19,” Ong said. Singapore Airlines is vital too, he said, and travel bubbles will be key in rebuilding the aviation industry and economy as worldwide vaccination rollouts lower infection rates and encourage countries to make such arrangements. “If we lose SIA or we lose Changi Airport, life in Singapore will never be quite the same,” Ong said.<br/>