ASEAN Regulators Call for Faster Liberalisation and Green Transition to Weather Aviation Crisis

 

 

Senior regulators from Thailand, Singapore, and ASEAN urge coordinated reform in air services, workforce development, and sustainable fuels as the Middle East conflict squeezes regional connectivity and drives up fares.

 

 

Senior aviation regulators from Thailand, Singapore, and the ASEAN secretariat have called for accelerated air services liberalisation, greater regional cooperation, and a faster shift to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as the ongoing Middle East conflict continues to disrupt connectivity and push up airfares across the region.

 

The calls came during a high-level panel discussion at the ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition 2026 (APAC and MID RACE 2026) in Bangkok, held under the theme A Regulatory View on ASEAN Airports and Their Socio-Economic Impact.

 

The session was opened by Stefano Baronci, director general of ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East, who presented new research on the socio-economic value of aviation in Southeast Asia before moderating the discussion.

 

Panellists were Air Chief Marshal Manat Chavanaproyoon, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand; Glory Wee, acting deputy director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore; and Satvinder Singh, deputy secretary-general of ASEAN for the ASEAN Economic Community.

 

 

 

 

A region under strain

Baronci opened with a sobering assessment. At nine key Middle Eastern gateways representing 70% of the region's air traffic, cancelled flights reached 53% of scheduled services between late February and early May, rising to 63% in the final week of April alone. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Asia as a whole has lost approximately 40% of its connectivity with the Gulf. Direct airfares from Asia to Europe, Africa, and the Americas were around 20% higher in 2025 compared with routes transiting the Middle East, with fares for July travel projected to be 60 to 70% higher than in previous years.

 

He also presented findings from a joint ACI-ASEAN study, which found that the region's airports handled 700 million passengers in 2025, supporting 1.6 million direct jobs and contributing $55 billion directly to the GDP.

 

Including wider economic benefits from tourism, trade, and investment, the total contribution rises to $244 billion in GDP and 23 million jobs. Further liberalisation, the study concluded, could unlock an additional 450,000 jobs and $4.3 billion in economic growth.

 

 

 

 

Thailand: people are the hardest part to build

Air Chief Marshal Manat described how Thailand managed the immediate fallout, working with airlines to repatriate close to 10,000 stranded tourists per day without disruption at the airport.

 

He noted that the crisis had created a commercial opportunity for Thai Airways, which saw a modest fare premium of around 10% as passengers switched to direct routing via Thailand.

 

Looking ahead, he identified three priorities for the sector: physical infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and — most critically — people. He warned that the human element cannot be rushed.

 

Pilots require around five years of training, and maintenance engineers and technicians need years of experience before they are fully qualified. Building that pipeline, he said, must begin now.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Singapore: resilient but not immune

Glory Wee was candid about the scale of disruption for Singapore, where every flight is international and every crisis is felt immediately. Before the conflict escalated, Singapore operated more than 150 weekly flights to key Middle Eastern cities.

 

More than 80% were cancelled in the immediate aftermath, though services have partially recovered to around 55 weekly flights.

 

Changi Airport Group has added roughly 95 alternative flights in response, with further services to Manchester, Milan, Munich, and Gatwick planned from July, and Singapore Airlines set to resume flights to Madrid via Barcelona from October.

 

Despite a modest 2% year-on-year increase in visitor arrivals in the first quarter, Wee cautioned that the International Monetary Fund has revised its global growth projection for 2026 down to 3.1% from 3.4% in 2025, with the figure potentially falling to 2.5% or even 2% if the conflict is prolonged.

 

 

 

 

Given that aviation tracks GDP closely, she warned the industry to brace for further pressure. On workforce, Wee described the challenge as existential for Singapore, given its fertility rate of 0.87 and limited labour pool.

 

The Civil Aviation Authority found that at least 30% of more than 60,000 aviation workers were already experiencing significant job redesign — and that was before the latest wave of artificial intelligence developments.

 

Singapore's response combines deployment of autonomous vehicles and AI tools to reduce dependence on manual labour, earlier integration of aviation skills into education curricula, and a model of tripartism — tight collaboration between government, industry, and trade unions.

 

A tripartite jobs council has recently been formed specifically to support workers navigating the AI transition.

 

 

 

 

 

ASEAN: use the crisis as a catalyst

Satvinder Singh offered measured optimism, noting that the region entered 2026 from a position of unexpected strength. Despite US tariffs averaging 20%, ASEAN's GDP grew to 4.9% in 2025, above the projected 4.2%, while intra-regional trade surged from $3.8 trillion to $4.3 trillion.

 

Singh described a spirit of solidarity among ASEAN leaders, including Thailand's offer to share jet fuel surpluses with neighbouring countries facing supply shortages.

 

He argued that the crisis creates a genuine opportunity to accelerate long-delayed reforms, including the full ratification of ASEAN's air services agreement; gradual liberalisation of air cargo — critical given the region produces 60 to 70% of the world's semiconductors; and harmonisation of safety and consumer protection standards.

 

He also pointed to the imminent signing of what he described as the world's largest legally binding regional digital agreement, to be concluded at the ASEAN summit in Manila later this year, as evidence of what collective action can achieve.

 

 

 

 

 

Decarbonisation: ambition with pragmatism

The panel addressed the tension between climate commitments and affordability. Wee outlined Singapore's SAF levy, designed to be transparent and affordable: roughly $0.80 (US) added to an economy-class fare from Singapore to Bangkok, $5 to London, and $8 to New York.

 

The implementation timeline has been adjusted to give airlines and travellers more time to adapt, but Singapore remains committed to increasing SAF uptake to between 3% and 5% by 2030. Wee was clear that the trade-off is not between sustainability and connectivity but about sequencing the transition carefully and ensuring no country is left behind.

 

 

 

 

 

Singh added that the energy crisis may itself hasten the green transition, with ASEAN's status as one of the world's largest producers of agricultural by-products and palm oil giving the region a natural advantage in biofuel development.

Baronci closed by cautioning governments against using aviation as a revenue source through taxes unrelated to improving transport infrastructure, warning that such measures risk undermining the sector's broader social and economic role.