March 8, 2021

Strategically located in the Southeast Asian region, Singapore is a leading hub for aviation-related activities. Singapore Changi Airport is seen as the best in the world and is continually undergoing developments, such as the recent unveiling of Jewel Changi Airport on the 7th of March, 2019. In light of Singapore’s goals, ‘Peopling Infrastructure: Aeromobilities, Automation and Labour Mobilisations in Asia’ offers unique and significant research insights on the sustainable, responsible, and humane maintenance of airport infrastructures.

The research project focuses on four airport functions – passenger formalities such as check-in, airside services such as gate and connections, baggage handling, and apron logistics such as tarmac operations. Through interviews, site visits, and analysis of reports, Assistant Professor Lin Weiqiang and his research team seek to uncover the daily routines of workers and how they navigate within the broader aviation ecosystem. The team also provide insights on how labour can be better managed, by looking at workers who are treated unfairly based on race and gender, and migrant or aged workers who are denied opportunities for long-term employment.

As the research team study four cities – Beijing, Dubai, Jakarta, and Singapore, they offer new global understandings of the inner-workings of the aviation industry and knowledge on airport infrastructures, labour, and technology.