SINGAPORE, March 27 — For every Singapore worker they employ, aviation companies will receive a 75 per cent wage offset for the first S$4,600 (RM14,000) of monthly wages, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday.

He was announcing a package of relief measures to help companies in particularly hard-hit sectors tide through the Covid-19 crisis.

Speaking in Parliament, Heng, who is also Finance Minister, also said that there will be a S$350 million Enhanced Aviation Support Package, which includes rebates on landing and parking charge and rental relief for airlines, ground handlers and cargo agents.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will allow Singapore carriers and the airport operator to partially or fully defer payment of certain fees due to the authority between April 1 this year and March 31 next year, to help ease their cash flow.

"Covid-19 is the single biggest shock that air hubs and airlines around the world have ever experienced. This will have a profound impact on the global aviation sector for years to come,” Heng said.

"If the aviation industry collapses in a crisis, it will be very hard to rebuild, and the recovery of the rest of the economy will be impeded.”

Heng also announced measures to support other sectors that have been badly affected by the pandemic, such as tourism, food-and-beverage, land transport, maritime and the arts.

Tourism sector