The Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar (APASS) 2025 brought together safety leaders, regulators, and industry stakeholders in Manila from 10-11 September to discuss the region’s most pressing safety challenges. Under the theme “Safety Without Borders, Global Partnerships, Local Impact,” the event reinforced the aviation sector’s commitment to collaboration in building a safer and more resilient industry.
Hosted by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) and Philippine Airlines, this year’s seminar expanded its scope with dedicated streams on flight operations, cabin safety, engineering and maintenance, and turboprop operations.
In his welcome remarks, Subhas Menon, Director General of AAPA, framed the event against a turbulent operating environment marked by trade tensions, supply chain disruptions, and climate change. Despite these challenges, Menon emphasised that aviation remains the safest mode of transport through global cooperation and risk management. “Safety is a discipline of risk management. The better we manage emerging risks, the safer we will be,” he said.
Menon reminded delegates that safety is not static but must be continuously strengthened through dialogue, learning, and the sharing of data and best practices.
Similarly, Richard Nuttall, President of Philippine Airlines, reinforced this message, noting that “safety is not confined by geography or organisation. It’s a shared commitment that binds us all.”
Lt. Gen. Raul del Rosario, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), echoed the importance of collaboration, highlighting local initiatives aligned with global standards, from digitised oversight systems to upgraded emergency response equipment.
From an international perspective, Tao Ma, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, underlined the region’s ambitious goal of achieving zero fatalities in commercial operations by 2030. He warned, however, that “the APAC region’s average safety oversight performance still lags behind the global average, and more needs to be done to strengthen safety culture and technical capacity.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Hassan Shahidi, President and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation, stressed the critical role of leadership in ensuring compliance and preventing risks. “Safety isn’t just about compliance — it’s about leadership and accountability at every level,” he said, calling for enhanced collaboration, stronger data sharing, and the adoption of new technologies.
Spotlight on cargo: Lithium battery fire risks
One of the most urgent discussions of APASS 2025 centred on the management of lithium-powered device fire risks in aircraft cabins and cargo holds. With e-commerce volumes surging across the Asia Pacific, the safe transport of batteries and electronic goods has become a top concern for airlines and regulators.
Capt. Lee Ooi Kok of Singapore Airlines highlighted the unique challenges of lithium-ion shipments, noting that thermal runaway is unlike any conventional fire. “It can escalate very quickly, and in the cargo hold, which is inaccessible to the crew, all you can do is try to suppress it,” he said.
Asia Pacific already accounts for more than 60 percent of global e-commerce, and as much as 20 percent of these shipments are transported by air — a share expected to rise to one-third by 2027. The implication for air cargo carriers is clear: fire risks linked to battery shipments will grow in parallel with market demand.
Capt. Lee pointed to containment tools such as fire-resistant unit load devices (ULDs) as critical safeguards, even though their use is not yet mandated. “They look normal, but inside, they are lined with composite fire-resistant materials. These tools trap the heat and smoke and buy pilots valuable time to make decisions,” he explained. Best practices include crew training, conducting stricter audits, and consistently applying safety protocols across the supply chain.
AAPA’s call for stronger regulatory alignment
In an interview with Payload Asia, Subhas Menon emphasised that airlines cannot tackle lithium battery risks alone. “Airlines are left to their own devices. No regulator has come out with a coordinated policy framework,” he said. “We want governments to address the issue, not just leave it to airlines. They need to develop regulations and coordinate among themselves so that the same rules apply everywhere you fly, not only in the region but globally.”
He also highlighted the role of supply chain players: “Where you have incidents, it’s because the rules were ignored. Shippers, forwarders, and handlers must follow the regulations strictly — and those who violate should be penalised.”
On balancing safety with other industry priorities, Menon stressed that sustainability and efficiency measures must never compromise safety. “Sustainability and safety are complementary. Whatever innovations are introduced, they must be tested and rolled out without compromising safety,” he said.
Looking ahead, he pointed to the promise of data-sharing and emerging technologies such as AI. “We need to work together to identify the risks of the future. To share data, we must first collect it, test it, and then ensure it is shared across the industry so that everyone benefits,” he shared.
Shared responsibility
Throughout the two-day seminar, the consistent message was that safety is a shared responsibility — requiring regulators to harmonise oversight, airlines to adopt best practices, and supply chain stakeholders to strictly comply with dangerous goods regulations.
As Menon concluded, “We have to learn from the past so that history does not repeat itself, and use that competency to identify and address the risks of the future.”
The next edition of APASS will take place in 2027.
