SINGAPORE: Singapore on Wednesday (Feb 16) announced the launch of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) with Hong Kong and other regions.
VTL quotas will also be restored and progressively increased. In addition, authorities said they are streamlining border measures as part of a “pivot” in the country’s travel policies.
Speaking at a multi-ministry task force press conference, Transport Minister S Iswaran said the VTLs, which allow quarantine-free travel for those who are fully vaccinated, were set up “as a pathfinder to establish, test and build confidence in reopening safely”.
“We made steady progress but had to take a pause due to Omicron,” he said, noting how Singapore deferred the launch of some VTLs late last year amid a rise in Omicron cases overseas.
The country also temporarily cut the number of VTL travellers entering Singapore.
“Now that we have greater certainty over the nature of Omicron and the associated public health risks, it is important that we pivot our travel posture … to resume the safe reopening of our borders and reclaim our position as a global business and aviation hub,” said Mr Iswaran.
VTLS TO BE LAUNCHED
A new VTL with Hong Kong, as well as previously deferred VTLs with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be launched, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced in a press release.
Vaccinated travel pass (VTP) applications for travel from these four countries and regions will open at 10am on Feb 22.
The first VTL flights from these places will take place from Feb 25.
With that, the current unilateral opening arrangement for Hong Kong will cease, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in a separate media release.
Applications by short-term visitors for the air travel pass (ATP) for travel from Hong Kong to Singapore will stop from 11.59pm on Feb 17, and those with travel history to Hong Kong and are holding a valid ATP may enter Singapore up until 11.59pm on Feb 24.
The decision to launch a unilateral VTL with Hong Kong stems from the need to maintain connectivity, said Mr Iswaran.
“The connectivity between Hong Kong and Singapore is a very important one – for business reasons, but also for people-to-people connectivity reasons,” he told reporters.
Two-way quarantine-free sea travel between Singapore and Indonesia will also resume with the launch of VTL (Sea) from Bintan and Batam.
This arrangement will “benefit users of Indonesia’s travel bubble to specific resorts in Bintan and Batam and facilitate short-term leisure travel,” MOH said.
VTP applications will open at 10am on Feb 22 and the first ferry trip will take place on Feb 25.
In addition, CAAS said Singapore will “deepen the VTL” for Thailand beyond Bangkok to include flights from all cities in the Southeast Asian country.
Airlines that plan to operate from more cities from Thailand under the VTL may submit their plans for designated flights to CAAS for approval.
New VTLs for Israel and the Philippines will also be launched to establish two-way quarantine-free travel. Travellers from these countries may enter Singapore under the VTL on or after Mar 4. VTP applications for these countries will open at 10am on Mar 1.