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https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/From-Singapore-to-South-Korea-airport-ambitions-face-headwinds2?del_type=1&pub_date=20220811190000&seq_num=2 From Singapore to South Korea, airport ambitions face headwinds Asia home to most expansion projects yet lags in traffic recovery after COVID-19 Singapore's Changi Airport is pushing ahead with a fifth passenger terminal, after the pandemic delayed its expansion plans. © Reuters DYLAN LOH, Nikkei staff writerAugust 11, 2022 13:35 JST SINGAPORE -- Asia is home to the largest concentration of airport development projects by number and value, yet lags behind the rest of the world in reviving travel in the wake of COVID-19, recent reports highlight. These conflicting crosswinds could mean a bumpy ride for the Asian sector in the coming years, with inflation, supply disruptions and skilled labor lost to the pandemic adding further complications. A look around the region reveals a flurry of airport construction plans. Singapore is moving ahead with a fifth passenger terminal at its main Changi Airport to the tune of $10 billion, after the pandemic delayed plans for expanding capacity. In terms of value, South Korea has the biggest airport infrastructure push lined up, worth as much as $46 billion, according to estimates compiled by Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research earlier this year. One major project on the horizon is the Gadeok Island Airport in Busan, expected to be built offshore on a floating structure in about a decade. In Vietnam, the state Airports Corporation of Vietnam, which manages civilian terminals, has plans through 2025 to upgrade and expand 23 facilities, designed to accommodate a total of 173 million passengers per year. In the same time frame, India plans to increase its airports from more than 130 at present to around 220, while the Philippines is counting on its upcoming Sangley Point International Airport project, located south of Manila, to handle over 100 million passengers annually once completed. Fitch said in May that Asia has over 200 airport projects overall, involving a combined $231 billion in investment -- both the most of any region. At the same time, however, Fitch noted that the future is foggy due to the "residual impacts" of COVID-19, including reduced revenues in previous years as well as uncertain future airport demand. It said this is likely to weigh "on project activity in the airport segment particularly over the short term." Last week, the World Tourism Organization highlighted that the Asia-Pacific region continues to lag behind when it comes to international arrivals. The industry body said Asia-Pacific arrivals were still 90% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels in the first five months of this year, making it the world's weakest region. Europe's figure was just 36% below 2019, with the Americas at 40%. There are some glimmers of a recovery. Asia-Pacific international passenger demand for March reached 17% of pre-COVID levels, after having hovered under 10% for most of the last two years, according to the International Air Transport Association. But it was still far below the global trend, with other markets seeing figures around 60% of pre-crisis levels. China and Japan are two major stragglers, due to their ongoing border restrictions. "So long as the Chinese government continues to maintain their zero-COVID approach, it is hard to see the country's borders reopening," Willie Walsh, the IATA's director general, said in May. "This will hold back the region's full recovery." Japan has opened up to a greater degree but is still only allowing leisure travelers in on group tours and continues to insist on COVID-19 testing, while many other countries have dropped such requirements. "While Japan has taken steps to allow travel, there is no clear plan for the reopening of Japan for all inbound visitors or tourists," Walsh said in May. Little has changed since, with Japan's tourism restart off to a disappointing start and record cases dimming hopes for a further easing at the borders. Then there are the threats of soaring inflation and supply chain interruptions to consider, as both could drive up construction costs. South Korea's Incheon International Airport in March: The country has the biggest airport infrastructure push lined up, according to Fitch. © Reuters Linesight, a construction consultancy headquartered in Ireland, noted in an April report that the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine may lead to increased competition for Asia-Pacific steel exports. "There has been somewhat of a resurgence in volatility on core construction commodities, including steel, copper and diesel," Michael Murphy, director at Linesight Singapore, told Nikkei Asia. "The impact to the construction industry can be seen at numerous junctures, but overall the result is cost and program uncertainty." "Other factors that contribute to supply chain disruption of construction projects also include logistics and transport disruption, and increased costs and delays in long-lead equipment due to material shortages, delays and price hikes," Murphy added. Gavin Steele, director of infrastructure in Asia for U.K.-based property consultancy Turner & Townsend, said the sector's challenges run even deeper. "Reduced staff levels have resulted in the loss of knowledge and remobilization of staff, and recruiting a new workforce has been a significant challenge for the industry," he told Nikkei. "Global paradigm shifts in the supply chain and local labor shortages felt in parts of Asia are likely to persist for the foreseeable future, causing tender-price volatility and threatening the pace of growth." That many countries are sticking to airport expansion plans suggests they are counting on passenger traffic in Asia eventually rebounding higher than ever before. On the Changi expansion, Singapore's Transport Minister S. Iswaran said in May that "given the current and projected recovery in air travel demand, we have a renewed impetus to secure our infrastructural capacity for growth." Nevertheless, considering how far Asia still has to go to recover, as well as the other pressures buffeting airport projects, it appears that the region's transportation hubs may be in for more turbulent times.

Take note if you are travelling on these airlines/flying from or in transit from these airports to UK and US. Which airports are involved? The U.S. ban cover 10 airports, including major global hubs such as Dubai. The full list: Cairo, Egypt; Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Istanbul, Turkey; Doha, Qatar; Amman, Jordan; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; and Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The U.K. list is shorter. It covers all inbound flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia but omits airports such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. Which airlines are affected? The nine airlines that operate direct flights to the U.S. from affected airports are Egyptair, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines. The U.K. restrictions apply to 14 airlines: British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2.com, Monarch, Thomas Cook, Thomson, Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airways, Atlas-Global Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Egyptair, Royal Jordanian, Tunis Air and Saudia. Which devices are banned? Smartphones will still be allowed. But passengers will have to check in any electronic devices bigger than that. That includes laptops, cameras, gaming devices and tablets such as iPads. http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/21/news/airline-electronics-ban-explainer/

Singapore Swoops In £1bn UK Airports Deal A Singaporean wealth fund is in talks to buy a stake in three of the UK's biggest regional airports, Sky News understands. http://news.sky.com/story/1346659/singapore-swoops-in-1bn-uk-airports-deal A state-backed Singaporean investment fund is poised to participate in a £1bn takeover of the UK's biggest regional airports that will be announced within days. Sky News has learnt that the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore (GIC) is expected to take a slice of the equity in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, alongside Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure giant, and Macquarie, the Australian bank. GIC's involvement is understood to be in the process of being finalised although it may not be publicly named as an investor when the deal is announced early next week, according to insiders. The three airports, which collectively handle approximately 13 million passengers annually, are being sold by Heathrow Airport Holdings (HAH), the parent company of Britain's busiest airport. Sky News revealed Ferrovial's interest in buying the three airports nearly ten months ago, with HAH's board keen to offload the regional sites as it concentrates on securing backing for a third runway. The debate about Britain's aviation policy will reach a crucial stage next year, when Sir Howard Davies's commission makes a recommendation about the most appropriate location for new runway capacity. The Commission's verdict will be made after the general election, and is effectively now a two-way fight between Heathrow and Gatwick, with the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, having seen his concept of a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary rejected by Sir Howard. The three regional airports owned by HAH are the last remnants of the former BAA's monopoly over the UK's aviation infrastructure. Next week's deal has been held up because of the complexity of HAH's own shareholder structure, with Ferrovial, which took over BAA in 2006, having steadily reduced its investment in Heathrow in recent years by selling small chunks of shares to sovereign wealth funds in China, Qatar and Singapore, including GIC. Last year, the Universities Superannuation Scheme, one of the UK's biggest pension fund managers, bought an 8.65% stake in Heathrow's holding company, a move which saw Ferrovial's shareholding lowered to 25%. Shortly after Ferrovial's takeover of BAA, competition authorities ordered the company to break itself up by selling Stansted, Gatwick and either Glasgow or Edinburgh, the latter of which was offloaded two years ago. Heathrow accounts for more than 95% of HAH's annual profits, making the sale of the other regional assets "inevitable" within the next three years, said one. HAH declined to comment on Friday.

New security pat down procedures. Osama has really won

apparently.... Phuket International Airport was the first to shut its doors after the protester invaded the runway Airports closure in Phuket, Hat Yai, Krabi affect flights from S'pore By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 August 2008 2348 hrs SINGAPORE: Thai authorities have closed airports in Phuket, Hat Yai and Krabi due to protests in the country and this has affected flights from Singapore. So far only one SilkAir flight to Phuket was affected. It was supposed to take off at 6:30pm on Friday but has now been postponed to 10am on Saturday. Travellers at the popular beach resorts have also been stranded. The airport protests came as thousands of activists laid siege to Bangkok's Government House for the fourth straight day, calling for Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to resign. - CNA/vm