What does the Air Travel Bubble mean and how does it affect us?

You may have seen in the recent news that Singapore and Hong Kong have taken a big step forward and agreed to set up a two-way Air Travel Bubble. Many of you may be wondering how this new development may affect us and the future of air travel and when it might take place.

Read on as we have done a quick overview of what this air travel bubble means and how it will affect us.

1. Requirements for the Air travel bubble

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However, they will not be required to have an itinerary or purpose of travel. Therefore, this will allow potential travelers to travel leisurely without having to quarantine or having a stay home notice requirement. *hurray*
With the Air Travel Bubble not yet put in place, details are still being worked out and we could hopefully see people traveling in weeks to come.
Transport Minister Mr. Ong Ye Kung has also stated that if there would be any spikes in COVID19 cases between both countries, there would be a suspension on the travel bubble as safeguarding the health of locals would be the top priority.

2. What other travel arrangements are in place

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As of the 9th of November, the following arrangements and the affected countries are still put in place:
Unilateral Opening (Requires Air travel pass) – New Zealand, Brunei, Australia *excluding Victoria state*, Vietnam
Fast Lanes – China, South Korea
Reciprocal green lanes – Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, and Indonesia
The Periodic commuting arrangement – Malaysia

For more information on the above-mentioned travel lanes, you can check out our fast lane blog here.

3. The future of Air Travel

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With the government still implementing and negotiating different travel arrangements with other countries, they are pushing hard for the recovery and resumption of air travel traffic back in Singapore while keeping in mind the precautions needed to make it possible. Given that Singapore is an aviation hub, the halt on air travel really put a dent in the economy.

With the Air Travel Bubble with Hong Kong announced, it’s a positive and big step forward for leisure travel as the other existing travel arrangements in place are for essential travelers only. The travel bubble also will impact and help airlines like Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific to boost their already low passenger traffic.
Singapore has been in talks with other countries to have a similar travel bubble arrangement and if all works out, the resumption of air travel could be sooner than later.

Plan and book your future trip with the help of our Fayyaz Travels agents today!