Published September 11, 2008

SELETAR AIRPORT
Another controversy comes in to land

By VEN SREENIVASAN
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(SINGAPORE) Another controversy has erupted at Seletar Airport as business-aviation operators cry foul over plans by the authorities to award a ground-services contract to a monopoly operator.

Business-jet operators and other tenants say they have been told by the Economic Development Board (EDB) - one of three agencies spearheading the $60 million redevelopment of Seletar Airport - that all ground-handling, fuel bunkering and maintenance operations will be in the hands of a single operator.

Tenders for ground handling will be called soon - and the winning bidder will be the sole provider of the services for 10 years.

This has raised concerns among small operators about a potential increase in operating costs.

'Right now we have our own team to load up our own tanks on our Hercules plane,' said Tony Evans of Safair, which operates a regional oil-spill quick-response business out of Seletar. 'What this means is we will soon be forced to use a third-party operator doing the work we can already do - and will be charged for it.'

Operators at Seletar say they are niche businesses with small flexible teams and timetables to keep costs down and response quick.



'We have no need for huge third-party ground operations services, fancy terminals or any other new services,' said Prithpal Singh, chief executive of Executive Jets Asia. 'What we need are hangars for our planes, direct access to the tarmac and flexible low-cost operations. A new operator - and a monopoly one at that - will surely need to recoup the investments it makes to set up here. And that translates to just one thing for us - higher costs.'

All this comes on the heels of another controversy - which is still simmering - over plans by the authorities to close the ageing airport 14 hours a day for 18 months, starting November, to extend its runway by 300m.

Businesses say this will severely restrict operations, especially 24-hour critical services such as medical evacuations. Operators say no update has been provided to enable them to prepare for the closure.

'As things are going now, it seems to us that the authorities want this place to be a clone of Changi, which is not a good thing for business aviation,' said Elyaas Parker, head of flight operations at Safair. 'The higher the cost, the more the chances that jet operators will overfly Seletar. Senai airport, just across the Straits, is crying out to us to relocate there. We don't want to move because we love it here in Singapore - and at Seletar. But if we ultimately have to go because of bureaucracy and costs, we are never coming back.'

There have also been complaints from small operators that the redevelopment emphasis at Seletar seems more focused on huge manufacturers like Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney rather than on retaining the airport as a hub for business aviation.

Earlier this year, Rolls-Royce broke ground on a $320 million Trent aero-engine facility at Seletar Aerospace Park (SAP), while engine-maker Pratt & Whitney is building a US$30 million, 105,000 sq ft facility there. JTC Corp is now marketing Phase 2 of SAP and says it is 'in talks' with interested parties.