CARRIAGE BY AIR BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

11.24 am

The Minister for Communications and Information (Dr Yeo Ning Hong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Singapore is a major air junction with links to many countries. We serve a total of 48 airlines with flights to 100 cities in 52 countries. According to readers of the magazine Business Traveller, our Changi Airport is the best airport in the world. The Business Traveller is an international travel magazine with readership in some 50 countries. Our national airline, Singapore Airlines, is also considered the best airline in the world. Sir, our workers in Singapore have done us proud. It is important for us as a major participant in the civil aviation industry that our legislation should enable us to keep pace with the latest international conventions. This Bill illustrates the Government's approach of planning for the future in order to stay at the forefront of the civil aviation industry.

The Carriage by Air Bill is to give effect in Singapore to the Warsaw Convention which relates to international carriage by air and the Convention as amended by the Hague Protocol. Both the Convention and the amended Convention have been acceded to by Singapore.

The Conventions already have the force of law in Singapore by virtue of section 5 of the Civil Law Act (Cap. 43). This allows us to receive into Singapore the law in the United Kingdom relating to carriage by air. Although this particular arrangement has served us well, it is now appropriate for us to incorporate the Conventions into our own legislation in preparation for the future. This will enable us to meet future developments in the international civil aviation industry expeditiously.

With the introduction of the Carriage by Air Bill, the United Kingdom law relating to carriage by air will cease to apply in Singapore. However, except for the change in the instruments giving effect to the Conventions, there will be no substantive change in the legal status of the Conventions in Singapore.

I shall now highlight some of the provisions of the Bill. These are features that are common to legislations in many other countries.

Clause 3 provides that the Warsaw Convention and the amended Convention shall have the force of law in Singapore.

Clause 6 provides for the application of the limits on liabilities in our courts. In particular, it allows our courts to reduce the damages awarded where the claimant has also commenced other related proceedings in Singapore or elsewhere. Clause 6 also empowers the Minister to prescribe the amount in Singapore dollars that is equivalent to the sums expressed in gold francs in the Conventions.

Clause 10 enables the Minister to exclude aircraft used for military purposes from the provisions of the amended Convention.

Finally, Clause 12 enables the Minister to apply the amended Convention to carriage by air which is not governed by that Convention.

Question proposed.

Dr Arthur Beng Kian Lam (Fengshan): Sir, the Carriage by Air Bill is to give effect in Singapore through the provisions of international conventions relating to carriage by air. The introduction of this Bill is in keeping with our position as a leading international air hub.

Sir, the civil aviation industry is very important for Singapore's growth as a global city. In 1987 Changi Airport recorded its highest passenger and air freight volumes: 11.2 million passengers and 418,000 tonnes of cargo since it began operation in 1981.

The peformance for the first half of this year has been just as encouraging with passenger and air cargo traffic increasing by 13% and 23% respectively. I am told that for 1988 passenger traffic is likely to exceed 12 million passengers and cargo volume more than half a million tonnes of freight.

Sir, Changi Airport has in no small way made Singapore's role as an air hub possible. Its reputation as one of the best airports in the world has been around for some years. In 1984, barely three years after it began operation, Changi was ranked the second Best Airport by Business Traveller magazine readers. Now, only four years later, it has made it to the top. Moreover, in 1986, in the first ever global awards for the world's air cargo industry, Changi was again named Best Airport for Air Cargo.

Sir, I wish to congratulate the Minister, his Ministry officials, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and each and every member of the staff of Changi Airport for this achievement. It is indeed a well-deserved honour. It is indeed the best present that they can give to Singapore on our 23rd birthday. My GPC members and I visited the airport last year, and again last week. We were very impressed by what we saw - the efficiency, the attention to details, the dedication and the single-minded commitment to make Changi the best airport in the world, and this they have done.

Sir, Singapore practises an open-sky aviation policy. Our liberal aviation policy is well-known. In spite of the protectionistic practices in the aviation industry, Singapore has managed to survive and thrive. The Ministry of Communications and Information and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore have throughout the years been meeting with officials of other countries to negotiate for increased frequency of flights and capacity to Singapore and countries beyond. Only four days ago, on 7th August, the 100th direct air link between Changi Airport and its latest destination, Pulau Langkawi, was established.

Sir, the Bill introduced today is indeed timely and appropriate. The GPC on Communications and Information fully supports the Bill.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Yeo Ning Hong].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.