IDEAS organised a Roundtable Discussion entitled Advancing Seamless ASEAN Skies (SAS), attended by key officials, regulators, academics and researchers. The group recognised the resilient growth of ASEAN’s aviation market in recent years. In spite of global shocks, it is now contributing over 12 million jobs and USD 140 billion to ASEAN economies. The group agreed on the great potential of deeper integration of ASEAN’s aviation markets, to further reduce the cost of air travel and promote business links. As the aviation market continues to grow, the experts agreed that collaboration and cooperation would be more important than ever to reap the benefits whilst prioritising safety and security.
IDEAS economist, Adli Amirullah presented a gap analysis of the ASEAN Single Aviation Market which showed that progress has been made in delivering the economic and technical elements of ASEAN Seamless skies, but further work is needed in a number of areas. The group discussed how best to build momentum behind this initiative, including renewing efforts to harmonise regulations, organising more focussed discussions between ASEAN Member States’ regulators and communicating the benefits of Seamless Skies to the public in more accessible ways. The group agreed to continue to share information and work together to support these efforts.
Commenting on the roundtable discussions Tan Sri Dr Rebecca Sta. Maria, Chairman of IDEAS said: “we have a real opportunity with Malaysia as chair of the Air Transport Working Group to take concrete steps to make the bold vision of ASEAN Seamless Skies a reality. This will benefit everyone – from consumers paying lower airfares, to SMEs who will have more opportunities to export overseas. We welcome the efforts made so far by ASEAN and its Member States and call for further progress to harmonise regulations and start more intensive talks at a senior level to drive progress forward.”
The roundtable involved experts from Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM), ASEAN secretariat, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Malaysia Judicial and Legal Training Institute (ILKAP), Indonesia Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, Thailand Thammasat University, United States Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS), Malaysia Aviation Academy, and the Indonesian Embassy.
