KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will immediately issue a protest note to the Singapore government over the latter’s decision to operate its instrument landing systems (ILS) for the Seletar Airport.
Transportation Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said Singapore’s move could affect the development in the Pasir Gudang area in Johor, as well as affecting shipping operations at the Pasir Gudang Port, located near the airport.
He said the government had decided not to allow Singapore to broadcast its ILS, with the decision conveyed to Singapore on Nov 28 and 29.
“However, Singapore began broadcasting its ILS Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) on Dec 1, to be fully enforced on Jan 3, and this is against the principle of national sovereignty as accorded under the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention 1944),“ he said at the Ministers’ Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat here today.
He said this in his reply to the original question from Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) who wanted to know whether the development in the Pasir Gudang area including the port would be adversely affected following Singapore’s move to increase commercial flight activities out of the Seletar Airport, just 2km from the national border.
Hassan also wanted to know when would the government reclaim the delegated airspace in southern Johor from Singapore.
Loke explained that the ILS procedure was referring to an assisted navigational aviation facility at the airport to give vertical and horizontal guidance to pilots while the flight was descending and approaching the runway and it should be officially published on AIP.
On the move to reclaim the delegated airspace in southern Johor from Singapore, Loke said on Nov 29 the government had informed Singapore on the country’s plan to reclaim its sovereign airspace in stages.
The first stage was expected by the end of 2019, while the next level would be in 2023, with a more detailed discussion to be carried out and should be referred to the International Civil Aviation Organisation for further advice, he said.
“The plan to reclaim the Malaysian airspace in southern Johor needs to be done in stages in order to coordinate the air traffic control service arrangements between the air traffic service providers in both countries to ensure safe movement of the aircraft,“ he said.
He said, since 1974 the airspace in southern Johor had been delegated to Singapore for the purpose of providing air traffic control services through the “Operational Letter of Agreement between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore Area Control Centres Concerning Singapore Arrivals, Departure and Overflight (LOA 1974)”. — Bernama
Transportation Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook. — Sunpix by Ashraf Shamsul
