Singapore Airlines to make cabin crew available in case of national emergency
Singapore Airlines has signed an MOU with the government to make its staff, and notably cabin crew, available for future national crises.
The MOU builds on the collaboration established between the airline and the Ministry of Health during the pandemic. It will involve training both Singapore Airlines and Scoot cabin crew volunteers in peacetime, so that they are ready to step up and take on various healthcare support roles.
During the pandemic, over 900 cabin crew served as Care Ambassadors to support healthcare institutions in patient care, which freed up nurses and other healthcare staff to devote additional focus on patients who required more complex clinical care. Singapore and Scoot staff were also temporarily redeployed as Transport Ambassadors, Contact Tracing Executives, and Social Service Office Processing Officers. When borders reopened and crisis operations stood down, the crew were able to pivot back to their jobs, enabling the airlines to recover quickly.
Singapore Airlines’ CEO Mr Goh Choon Phong said, “While the SIA Group had surplus manpower at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many public sector organisations needed more staff on the frontlines. Working closely with MOH and PSD, we successfully transitioned over 2,000 of our people to roles with various public agencies and healthcare institutions. Almost everyone they met in these jobs praised their warm and caring nature, professionalism, and dedication to customer service. Being exposed to different types of support roles also benefitted our people, who used their experience and new skills to enhance our customer service. Today’s agreement formalises our partnership with MOH and PSD, establishing a pathway to seamlessly redeploy our people once again, should a similar situation arise.”