Travellers to Singapore will no longer need to undergo a PCR test and isolate upon their arrival at Changi Airport, with daily testing also scrapped, as the city-state moves to boost tourism and reclaim its status of one of Asia’s major travel hubs.
From February 22, visitors arriving from countries which fall under the vaccinated travel lane scheme will need to only take one supervised self-swab at a recognised testing centre within 24 hours of their arrival.
The S$125 cost of on-arrival PCR tests – as opposed to their S$15 rapid counterparts – has been seen as a major impediment to both business travel and tourism, compounded by a recently-introduced regime of daily rapid tests across the first week.
In addition, pre-departure testing will no longer be required for passengers in transit through Singapore’s Changi Airport.
Singapore will also restore and progressively raise quotas imposed on vaccinated travel lanes, the Ministry of Health said in a statement Wednesday, while extending the VTL program over the coming weeks to include Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – major transit hubs in their own right – along with Hong Kong, the Philippines, Israel and Saudi Arabia, while the VTL for Thailand will be extended beyond Bangkok to include flights from all Thai cities.
Visitors to Singapore will no longer need to have remained in a VTL country or counties for 14 days prior to their arrival at Changi, with that requirement slashed to seven days – making it easier to plan trips that involve hopping between several countries.
Vaccinated holders of long-term visas, such as high-income foreign workers and their dependents, will no longer need to apply for entry approval for travel via vaccinated travel lanes.
Singapore has been seeking to revive its status as an aviation hub after starting travel lanes with more than 20 countries including the U.S., U.K. and France last year.
Regional rivals including Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai remain largely closed to international visitors as those places seek to keep imported infections low.
Singapore’s plans are a sharp contrast to rival financial centre Hong Kong, which is not only less vaccinated but has has clung at Beijing’s behest to a restrictive Covid-Zero policy Singapore abandoned last year. Hong Kong has largely shut down air travel and imposed strict quarantines on arrival.
Singapore Airlines said in a statement Wednesday that it will expand its vaccinated travel lane network to 47 cities in coming weeks, adding hubs like Dubai and Hong Kong, while also increasing the frequency of flights on several existing routes.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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