Technical and Industry Affairs Bulletin - Issue 23, March 2020

ISSUE 23 // MARCH 2020

Asia-Pacific States Agree to Safety Plans

Regional Economics Committee Finalizing Study on Airport Charges

SAFETY Asia-Pacific States Agree to Safety Plans • Middle East States to Draw Up Air Transport Strategy SECURITY ACI Represents Airports to Discuss ICAO Annex 17 Amendments • ICAO Invites ACI to Help Nepal Improve Aviation Security • Vanuatu Hosts First APEX in Security in Pacific Islands

ECONOMICS Regional Economics Committee Finalizing Study on Airport Charges • Airport Charges: Positive outcome in Australia • Economic Regulation Reform Delay in Malaysia • Regional Office Strengthens Engagement with Indian Policy Makers

ENVIRONMENT Aircraft Noise Management Survey Issued • Airport Carbon Accreditation Advisory Board Reviews New Level and Verification Guidance • Airport Carbon Accreditation Updates

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY New Leadership for Regional IT Liaison Group • ACI World and Aviation-ISAC Enter Cooperative Agreement FACILITATION Guidance Document to Help Airports on Coronavirus Outbreak AIRPORT CORNER Carbon Reduction Best Practices at Hong Kong International Airport

Asia-Pacific States Agree to Safety Plan The ICAO Asia-Pacific Regional Aviation Safety Group (RASG-APAC) formally approved the Regional Aviation Safety Plan in its November 2019 meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. National regulators are now to enact plans based on the agreed regional roadmap with targets to be met

by States themselves and indirectly by airlines and airport operators.

The Regional Aviation Safety Plan calls for airports and their regulators to certify all international airports in the region per ICAO standards and national regulations by the end of 2020. As of September 2019, most international airports yet to be certified in Asia-Pacific are situated in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. To support timely certification efforts in these areas, ACI and ICAO have been ramping up training in aerodrome certification and the fundamental Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for airport design and operations (as covered in Annex 14 to the Chicago Convention).

APEX IN SAFETY ACI’s APEX in Safety programme directly contributes to these efforts. Initiated in 2012,

the most recent beneficiary was Port Vila Airport (VLI), formerly known as Bauerfield International Airport. APEX in Safety was hosted by Airports Vanuatu Limited.

STATE SAFETY PROGRAMME Another important target of the Regional Aviation Safety Plan is for each State to fully establish a State Safety Program (SSP) by 2025. Simply stated, SSP is a State’s version of a Safety Management System (SMS) for airports, assisting regulators manage safety in a “systematic” manner and ensure safety issues don’t “fall through the cracks” in any organization.

NEXT STEPS Following the approval of the Regional Aviation Safety Plan, the 39 Asia-Pacific States and associations, including ACI, will develop a detailed implementation plan. This will be done at the April working meeting. A progress report will be presented by the third quarter at the 2020 Ministerial Conference of Civil Aviation in India.

Regulators of Asia-Pacific States agree to a proposed Regional Aviation Safety Plan 2 | The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports

Middle East States to Draw Up Air Transport Strategy At the fifth Directors General of Civil Aviation Conference in Middle East (DGCA-MID/5), held in November 2019 in Kuwait, the region’s heads of civil aviation regulators of the 15 States agreed to draft a strategic plan to enhance safety, security, environmental protection and air connectivity for the period 2020 - 2035. The strategic plan is in direct support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and ICAO’s strategic objectives. International organizations, including ACI, will be invited to participate in the drafting of the strategy. The draft plan will be presented to the 6th DGCAMID conference in 2021, followed by a ministerial conference of the Middle East.

SHARE YOUR POINT OF VIEW

Civil aviation regulators decide to draw up a strategic plan for 2020- 2035

ACI members will be consulted for inputs to the draft strategy via the regional committees. However, non-committee members can contribute or share their airport’s views by contacting Mr. SL Wong.

Share Your Safety Issues As not all ACI Asia-Pacific member airports are able to attend the Regional Operational Safety Committee (“ROSC”) meetings in person, members are now invited to share their safety issues via email for discussion at the ROSC meetings. The issues will be tabled for discussion at the next Committee meeting. ACI respects members’ confidentiality and will not publish details of the airport or issues unless prior consent is obtained. Advice will be provided by correspondence.

The Committee’s purpose is to help airport members resolve their safety issues. Members are encouraged to make use of this service.

Please send a summary of the issue to the ROSC Secretary, Mr. SL Wong.

For more information on any of the topics mentioned in this section, please contact Mr. SL Wong, Head of Technical Affairs, Safety, Capacity and ATM at sl@aci-asiapac.aero.

The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports | 3

ACI Represents Airports to Discuss ICAO Annex 17 Amendments

ACI Asia-Pacific joins State regulators and industry organizations in Singapore for Annex 17 Working Group meeting

In January, the Regional Office participated in an ICAO Annex 17 Working Group meeting hosted by the Singaporean Ministry of Transport.

Attended by representatives from 14 States and four international organizations, including ACI Asia-Pacific, the attendees discussed a number of potential new or revised Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) including security culture, hold baggage screening, and behavioral detection.

The major task of the working group is to develop, review and update the SARPs in ICAO Annex 17 on a regular basis. Over the years, many consequential amendments to Annex 17 have been proposed by the group as the security environment has evolved. The Working Group reports to the Aviation Security Panel, an ICAO security policy decision-making body. The outcomes of the meeting will be presented to this Panel in May for approval.

4 | The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports

ACI Asia-Pacific represents airports’ interest in discussions for future Annex17 amendments

ICAO Invites ACI to Help Nepal Improve Aviation Security ACI Asia-Pacific participated in a Combined Action Team (CAT) mission in November 2019 to Kathmandu, Nepal, hosted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

Under the “No Country Left Behind” initiative, the one-week CAT mission in security is an ICAO project to provide technical assistance to States in Asia-Pacific to help them improve aviation security standards towards the targets set out in the ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP).

Through this mission, ACI Asia-Pacific became the first industry association to participate in a CAT mission. Participation is normally restricted to ICAO experts.

Over the week-long mission, Mr. Gary Leung, Manager, Security and Facilitation, along with colleagues from the ICAO APAC Office, worked with CAAN to develop corrective action plans to address findings identified in a recent ICAO security audit. The team also conducted an onsite visit at Gautam Buddha Airport (BWA) and provided inputs on security-related subjects to be incorporated into the design of its new terminal.

ACI Asia-Pacific joins ICAO security mission in Nepal

Site visit to the new terminal of Gautam Buddha Airport (BWA) under construction

Vanuatu Hosts First APEX in Security in Pacific Islands Following the APEX in Safety review, ACI successfully concluded an APEX in Security review at Port Vila Airport (VLI), formerly known as Bauerfield International Airport, in Vanuatu in December 2019, hosted by Airports Vanuatu Limited. Not only was this the first APEX in Security in the country, but it was also the first amongst the Pacific Islands nations. The review team consisted of security experts from Cairns Airport of Australia, PT Angkasa Pura II of Indonesia, Tahiti Airport of South Polynesia, ACI Asia-Pacific and ACI World.

During the one-week review, the team set forth recommendations for best practices in security.

Launched in October 2017, APEX in Security is a peer-to-peer review programme that helps airports enhance security performance by

APEX team members with Mr. Jason Rakau, CEO of Airports Vanuatu Limited

improving compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and adopting industry best practices.

If you would like to host an APEX in Security review at your airport or would like to be a voluntary security assessor, please contact Mr. Gary Leung.

For more information on any of the topics mentioned in this section, please contact Mr. Gary Leung, Manager, Security and Facilitation, at gary@aci-asiapac.aero.

The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports | 5

Regional Economics Committee Finalizing Study on Airport Charges

10th ACI Asia-Pacific Economics Committee Meeting, Bahrain (Nov 2019)

The Regional Economics Committee (“Committee”) is finalizing an Asia-Pacific-wide study analyzing airport charges and airfares. The Committee reviewed the preliminary findings at the 10th Regional Economics Committee in Bahrain in November 2019. The report is expected to be finalized in early 2020.

The regional study is in response to advocacy efforts by airlines around the world calling on governments to step up regulation on airport charges, claiming that airports have monopoly power that results in higher airport charges. In Asia-Pacific, the airport charges debate was most active recently in Australia, Malaysia and India.

The Regional Board requested the Committee to conduct a regional study to better prepare ACI Asia-Pacific members in responding to these debates.

WORK PLAN 2021 - 2023 Looking ahead, the Committee will identify and agree on the key priorities for the next Committee Work Plan 2021 to 2023, to be discussed at the Spring 2020 Committee meeting.

Airport Charges: Positive Outcome in Australia In December 2019, the Australian Government responded to the Productivity Commission’s final report and concurred with its conclusion that the existing light-handed economic regulation for airports remains fit for purpose. The Government also supported many of the Commission’s recommendations such as regulators receiving a broader range of financial information, more transparency in airport performance data, and asking the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to 6 | The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports

undertake a review of the quality of service indicators. ACI, who provided its comments during the consultation process, welcomed this response as a best practice for the region and beyond.

Economic Regulation Reform Delay in Malaysia In Malaysia, the independent regulator, Malaysia Aviation Commission (Mavcom) experienced some challenges and delays to its plan to finalize and implement the Regulatory Asset Base (RAB) economic regulation framework.

A number of government interventions led to increased regulatory uncertainties including (1) the reduction of passenger service charge for international flights at all airports in Malaysia except Kuala Lumpur International Airport main terminal; (2) the Government indication it was looking at alternatives beside the RAB; (3) the proposed integration of Mavcom and the Civil

Aviation Authority of Malaysia.

ACI Asia-Pacific issued a press release in early November and followed up with a letter to the Prime Minister in mid-December urging the Government to guarantee a swift finalization of the reform of the economic regulation framework for aeronautical charges in Malaysia, and to preserve the independence of the economic regulator. ACI will continue to plan future actions in full coordination with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.

Regional Office Strengthens Engagement with Indian Policy Makers In his first official visit, Director General Stefano Baronci, accompanied by Senior Manager, Economics and Statistics, Suzanne Tong, visited Delhi, India, in January, to meet with airport members, government officials and the economic regulator.

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

efforts to date to incentivize private capital in the public sector and will damage the growth trajectory of Indian airports and duty-free providers. The Regional Office followed up with a press release. In the Union Budget of India for 2020–2021 presented on 3 February, the Finance Minister left the allowances in place.

The meetings spanned a variety of topics that included privatization, economic regulation, quality of service regulation, and slot allocation.

ACI was invited to provide input to several policy initiatives and the Regional Office will work in full coordination with member airports to help shape these developments for the benefits of the airport sector.

ADVOCACY SUCCESS Lastly, the Regional Office responded to a proposal by the Ministry of Commerce to restrict the purchase of tax-free alcohol at dutyfree shops to one 1-liter bottle, and the ban of cigarette cartons sales at these shops. In a letter to the Minister of Civil Aviation, ACI Asia-Pacific urged the Government to reject the proposal as it is inconsistent with the Government’s fruitful

Senior Management team of Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India

For more information on any of the topics mentioned in this section, please contact Ms. Suzanne Tong, Senior Manager, Economics and Statistics, at suzanne@aci-asiapac.aero.

The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports | 7

Aircraft Noise Management Survey Issued ACI Asia-Pacific issued the Aircraft Noise Management Survey to the Regional Environment Committee (“REC”) in January 2020. Members of the REC were invited to submit and share best practices in this initiative. The data received will be discussed in the next Regional Environment Committee meeting before expanding the survey results to the whole region.

With increasing air traffic and expansion of airport operations in Asia-Pacific and Middle East, aircraft noise is one of the environmental and social concerns identified in the region.

Through this survey, ACI Asia-Pacific can develop a database of best practices to mitigate aircraft noise impacts under the ICAO Balanced Approach Guidance (Doc. 9829) to support its member airports.

The Aircraft Noise Management Survey is developed by the Aircraft Noise Management Working Group under the REC for the Asia Pacific region. The objectives of the survey are:

•

To develop a database of the noise performance trend of the fleet mix operating at ACI Asia-Pacific member airports; and

•

To help member airports to address noise problems, identify and analyze the noiserelated measures at the individual airport by learning from the experience of other airports.

Airport Carbon Accreditation Advisory Board Reviews New Level and Verification Guidance In a January meeting, the Airport Carbon Accreditation advisory board endorsed the concept document of a proposed new level, which aims to address both the latest public and stakeholder expectations and the evolving airports’ needs. The main additional requirements of this new level are for airports to ensure absolute CO2 reduction and account for specific Scope 3 CO2 reduction. It is intended for launch in June 2020.

To enhance the quality and compliance level of the Airport Carbon Accreditation verification process, the advisory board reviewed and approved a new guidance document providing requirements for the verification process.

8 | The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports

Airport Carbon Accreditation Updates 56 Asia-Pacific airports are now accredited: LEVEL 3+, NEUTRALITY • • • •

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, India Indira Gandhi International Airport, India Kempegowda International Airport, India Queen Alia International Airport, Jordan

• •

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, India Sunshine Coast Airport, Australia

LEVEL 3, OPTIMISATION • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Abu Dhabi International Airport, United Arab Emirates Adelaide Airport, Australia Brisbane International Airport, Australia Chiang Mai International Airport, Thailand Don Mueang International Airport, Thailand Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates Dubai World Central, United Arab Emirates Hamad International Airport, Qatar Hat Yai International Airport, Thailand Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong SAR Incheon Airport, Republic of Korea Kansai International Airport, Japan Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

• • • • • • • • •

Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai International Airport, Thailand Narita International Airport, Japan Osaka International Airport, Japan Parafield Airport, Australia Sharjah Airport, United Arab Emirates Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore Suvarnabumi Airport, Thailand Sydney Airport, Australia Taoyuan International Airport, Chinese Taipei

LEVEL 2, REDUCTION • • • • • • • • • • •

Aéroport International de Noumea-La Tontouta, New Caledonia Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain Biju Patnaik International Airport Bhubaneswar, India Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, China Christchurch Airport, New Zealand Gold Coast Airport, Australia Hobart International Airport, Australia Kobe Airport, Japan Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport Varanasi, India Longreach Airport, Australia Macau International Airport, Macau

• • • • • • • • • •

Melbourne Airport, Australia Mount Isa Airport, Australia Muscat International Airport, Oman Nadi International Airport, Fiji Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Kolkata, India Perth Airport, Australia Salalah Airport, Oman Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, China Townsville Airport, Australia Trivandrum International Airport, India

LEVEL 1, MAPPING • • • • •

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China Hawke’s Bay Airport, New Zealand Palmerston North Airport, New Zealand Phnom Penh International Airport, Cambodia Siem Reap International Airport, Cambodia

• •

Sihanoukville International Airport, Cambodia Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, China

For more information on any of the topics mentioned in this section, please contact Mr. Ken Lau, Senior Manager, Environment and Airport Information Technology at ken@aci-asiapac.aero.

The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports | 9

New Leadership for Regional IT Liaison Group The Regional Airport Information Technology Liaison Group (“RAITLG”) has elected Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Qurashi, Vice President of Airport IT, General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Saudi Arabia as its new Chair for the term 2020-2021.

Mr. Al-Qurashi has more than 13 years of experience orchestrating transformation of corporate IT infrastructure, automating technology processes, and delivering business intelligence and data warehousing solutions within the aviation industry. He currently leads IT management, strategy and governance for GACA including IT services, solutions, strategic planning and execution, technology team leadership, and process improvement.

Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Qurashi, Vice President of Airport IT, General Authority of Civil Aviation

He will be representing the RAITLG and the region at ACI World Airport Information Technology Committee meetings.

ACI World and Aviation-ISAC Enter Cooperative Agreement ACI World and The Aviation Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (“A-ISAC”) recently announced an agreement that better enables ACI members to join the A-ISAC for access to airportspecific cyber threat intelligence and actionable data that will enhance their ability to build cyber resiliency.

relevant content. Members of the Regional Airport IT Liaison Group have been encouraged to join the A-ISAC.

The A-ISAC is a global membership consortium that focuses on cybersecurity threats to airports, airlines, IFE/Satcom providers, original equipment manufacturers, supply chain manufacturers, and service providers. In addition to the aviation industry’s cyber threat intelligence, airports that join the A-ISAC will have access to a dedicated working group, a quarterly report that covers the latest airport-specific threats and trends, and other

For more information on any of the topics mentioned in this section, please contact Mr. Ken Lau, Senior Manager, Environment and Airport Information Technology at ken@aci-asiapac.aero.

10 | The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports

Guidance Document to Help Airports on Coronavirus Outbreak

In light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the People’s Republic of China and the spread to different parts of the world, ACI AsiaPacific is committed to keeping its members abreast of the latest developments.

Airport members are advised to refer to the ACI guidance document: Airport Preparedness Guidelines for Outbreaks of Communicable Diseases. This document contains a series of recommendations in a number of areas for airports to enhance preparedness, including health screening, additional hygienic measures, emergency response, coordination and communication with relevant stakeholders and more.

The Director General of ACI Asia-Pacific issued a memo on 24 January updating members on the then-current situation and reminding them of the ACI guidance materials that help prevent the spread of communicable diseases. As the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread, another update by the Director General was issued on 8 February, which focused on the impacts to the civil aviation industry and the regional economies.

For more information on any of the topics mentioned in this section, please contact Mr. Gary Leung, Manager, Security and Facilitation, at gary@aci-asiapac.aero.

The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports | 11

Airport Corner Carbon Reduction Best Practices at Hong Kong International Airport On 15 January 2020, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) held its 4th Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) Carbon Management Senior Executive Roundtable Luncheon. AAHK CEO Mr. Fred Lam and 48 airport business partners came together to share their latest carbon reduction strategies and initiatives.

At the luncheon, AAHK released the HKIA Carbon Reduction Award Scheme: Best Practices Sharing, which summarises the 24 winning projects from 13 airport business partners in the 2018 HKIA Carbon Reduction Award Scheme.

The aim was to share proven business cases and innovative reduction measures and inspire new and compelling ideas to drive further carbon reductions in pursuit of HKIA’s airport-wide carbon reduction target.

This year, AAHK presented awards to nine airport business partners with outstanding carbon reduction performance under the HKIA Carbon Reduction Award Scheme 2019. Their efforts played a key role in helping the airport community achieve an 8.7% reduction in HKIA’s airport-wide carbon intensity in 2018 relative to 2015 levels. Carbon intensity is measured against the workload unit (WLU). One WLU is equal to one passenger or 100kg of cargo.

The award scheme is one of the four engagement strategies to support the 53 airport business partners participating in the HKIA Carbon Reduction Programme.

The other three engagement strategies include: •

An annual Senior Executive Roundtable to facilitate discussions on high-level environmental issues;

•

A half-yearly Technical Working Group meeting to share the latest developments in carbon and energy-saving technologies; and

•

A Sector Benchmarking Scheme to encourage friendly competition.

Going forward, AAHK will work with the airport community to set a new long term carbon reduction target for HKIA as part of its commitment to addressing the impact of climate change.

Group photo of the 4th HKIA Carbon Management Senior Executive Roundtable Luncheon

Mr. Mike Kilburn, Assistant General Manager, Sustainability at Airport Authority of Hong Kong and Chair, ACI World Environment Standing Committee, is responsible for developing and implementing AAHK’s sustainability strategy, as well as its “airport-wide” approach to managing HKIA’s environmental footprint. He is currently Chair of the ACI World Environment Standing Committee 12 | The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports

Event Invitations for You...

OPERATIONAL SAFETY

AVIATION SECURITY

20 - 24 April, Bangkok, Thailand 15th meeting of the ICAO Asia Pacific regional aviation safety team (APRAST/15)

19 - 20 March, Melbourne, Australia 19th ACI Smart Security Management Group Meeting (SSMG/19)

30 March - 1 April, Muscat, Oman 2nd ICAO Middle East Regional Aviation Security and Facilitation Group Meeting (MID-RASFG/2)

23 - 26 June, Bangkok, Thailand 4th Meeting of the ICAO Aerodromes Operations and Planning Sub-Group (AOP/SG/4)

6 - 7 May, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 52nd ACI World Aviation Security Standing Committee Meeting (WSSC/52)

AIRPORT ECONOMICS 23 March, Geneva, Switzerland ACI World Expert Group on Slots (EGS)

ENVIRONMENT

4 - 6 March, Oakland, USA ACI World Environment Standing Committee Meeting

7 - 8 May, Rome, Italy Airport Traffic Think Tank (AT3) Annual Meeting 14 - 15 May, Naples, Italy

ACA Task Force and ACI EUROPE ENVSTRAT Meeting 13 - 14 May, Tampa, Florida, USA ACI World Economics Committee Meeting

15th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference & Exhibition The new date for the event will be announced soon.

ACI 12th Annual Airport Economics & Finance Conference & Exhibition The new date for the event will be announced soon.

The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports | 13

The Voice of Asia-Pacific Airports

Airports Council International Asia-Pacific Region Unit 13, 2/F, Airport World Trade Centre 1 Sky Plaza Road Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong

Telephone (852) 2180 9449

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