Impact of Instrument Landing System Withdrawal at Seletar Airport

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Transport following Singapore's withdrawal of the use of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) for Seletar Airport (a) what are the technical and commercial consequences to Seletar Airport; and (b) whether the ILS is regarded as necessary for the operation of Firefly flights at Seletar Airport when Singapore first decided to implement the ILS.

Seletar Airport has been operating as a visual airport for decades. This means that pilots flying to and from Seletar Airport need to be able to clearly sight the runway and their operating environment when landing and taking off. This also means that during bad weather, flights may have to be delayed or diverted to other airports. This arrangement has worked well for Seletar Airport as it is a rather small airport.

In 2017, when arrangements were being planned to shift Firefly's flights to Seletar, Firefly asked the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to install at Seletar Airport an Instrument Landing System (ILS) and its associated flight procedures. Firefly had informed CAAS that an ILS was a requirement by its regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM). CAAS agreed to the request as the ILS would also have enabled all other pilots to operate at Seletar in all weather conditions.

While ILS is a commonly used instrument approach, it is not the only one. CAAS and CAAM are working on an alternative, using GPS-based instrument approach procedures.

Meanwhile, flights to and from Seletar Airport are using visual procedures as in the past.