SINGAPORE: Ground handling company SATS will invest more than S$250 million (US$192 million) to upgrade ground support equipment and cargo handling capabilities at Changi Airport. Its announcement on Thursday (May 15) comes on the heels of Changi Airport Terminal 5’s groundbreaking on Wednesday. The new terminal is expected to handle about 50 million passengers a year when it opens in phases starting in the mid-2030s.
The investment supports SATS’ Singapore Hub (SG Hub) division, which manages ground operations at Changi and Seletar airports, including passenger and cargo handling.
“FUTURE-PROOF” AVIATION OPERATIONS
Over S$150 million will go towards modernising the ground support equipment fleet over the next five years, the company said. This includes renewing and refurbishing over 500 specialised commercial vehicles and equipment, or about 40 per cent of its SG Hub’s fleet. An additional 100 new units will also be added to support growing business volumes. Such equipment includes aircraft tugs, which are used for aircraft towing or pushback operations, and main deck loaders, which handle cargo pallets from ground to cargo deck. Safety enhancements will also be made to advance aircraft damage prevention systems. Additionally, SATS aims to electrify 55 per cent of its fleet by FY2030 – up from the current 35 per cent. To address the increasing cargo volumes, S$100 million will be invested to enhance cargo operations over the next two years.
The multi-phase enhancement, which will commence from the middle of this year, will consolidate Singapore Airlines’ import, export and transhipment operations in a single facility. Its peak day handling capacity will also increase by over 50 per cent, from 1,750 tonnes to 3,150 tonnes. In tandem with these investments, SATS’ SG Hub will also nurture its workforce to support traffic growth at Singapore’s airports. Efforts will include job redesigning, upskilling initiatives and attracting new talent to its 7,800-strong workforce. It will also leverage technologies such as autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence, SATS said. Mr. Henry Low, the CEO of SATS’ SG Hub, said that the multimillion-dollar investments will “future-proof” Singapore’s aviation ground handling and cargo operations. “While the opening of Changi Airport Terminal 5 is about 10 years away, SATS is already undertaking extensive preparations to handle future operational demands,” he said. The upgrades will help it support airline customers more effectively and ensure that Singapore continues to “excel as a world-leading air hub,” he added.
