Mr Kevin Shum, Director-General of CAAS (left), in the driver’s seat of the enhanced AFTDS, and Mr Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of CAG (right).

On 23 May, CAAS officially commissioned its enhanced Airport Foam Tender Driving Simulator (AFTDS).  It is one of the most technologically advanced airport emergency simulator training systems with a motion platform in the Asia Pacific used by Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA), the training arm of CAAS. The enhanced AFTDS will strengthen two of SAA’s core airport emergency personnel training programmes, the Airport Fire Officers and Senior Airport Fire Officers courses. 

Airport Emergency Service (AES) officers at Changi Airport typically receive training on the operation of foam tender vehicles at SAA through such simulator training systems. This is a more sustainable and cost-effective approach.

The enhancements to AFTDS, costing approximately S$1 million, include:

1. More realistic scenarios to provide a higher degree of realism. Training with more realistic scenarios, including that of passengers evacuating from a burning aircraft, the AES officers can immerse themselves in different challenging conditions and train to respond effectively in a safe and controlled environment.  
2. Connecting the AFTDS to three other non-motion platform fire truck driving simulators. This feature enables more team-based collaborative and interactive training to sharpen “command and control” skills. The new feature will help to boost training capacity from 1,100 to 1,800 training sessions annually. 
3. The latest Changi Airport roadway layout plan to enhance operational readiness.  With inclusion of the yet-to-be open Terminal 4, the AES officers can familiarize themselves with T4’s roadway layout, as well as practice and test their readiness even before the terminal is operational. 

Mr Kevin Shum, Director-General of CAAS said, “At high traffic busy airports like Changi Airport, the airport emergency services personnel must be ready to respond promptly and competently to emergency situations. This is critical to ensure the safety of passengers and efficient operations of the airport. Through SAA, CAAS is committed to elevate the training and quality of airport emergency services personnel. This will support Changi Airport’s current and future needs as well as that of other airports.”

Mr Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of Changi Airport Group said, “As air traffic continues to grow, so too must our capabilities in ensuring a safe and secure airport environment for the travelling public. The next generation simulator will help our AES officers sharpen their operational readiness when responding to aircraft emergencies. It marks yet another step towards maintaining the highest safety standards at Changi Airport.”