How the ‘travel bubble’ between Hong Kong and Singapore will work

SINGAPORE – Leisure travel between Hong Kong and Singapore could resume next week as both cities work to establish a bilateral “travel bubble” that will allow passengers to leave the quarantine.

Asia’s two largest commercial and financial centers બંને both cities આર્થિક are suffering economically as the coronavirus epidemic has affected the travel and aviation sectors.

Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s secretary of commerce and economic development, said the arrangement would not change the pre-epidemic situation between the two cities, while many daily flights ply the Hong Kong-Singapore route.

“The concept of a bilateral corridor, commonly referred to as an air travel bubble, should ensure safety and public health on the one hand, and facilitate travel as much as possible,” Ya told CNBC’s Squawk Asia Asia on Monday.

Details of the travel bubble and its start date are still being worked out, but the secretary said both cities could start with one flight a day. The flight will only carry passengers traveling under the bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore, and will not include people passing through any of the cities, he said.

The Secretary outlined other key features of the travel bubble, including:

• Passengers are required for a negative test for coronavirus pre-departure;
• Hong Kong visitors are required to take a second exam upon arrival to make sure they are “fit for travel”;
• Passengers will not have to provide quarantine service and their itinerary will not be regulated;
• Officials in both cities will also adjust the number of dedicated flights under the coronavirus situation – or suspended – depending on the situation.

Last year, Hong Kong received more than 3,453,000 visitors from Singapore, compared to 1,000,000,000,000, according to official figures from the respective cities.

Ya said that in addition to Singapore, Hong Kong is also in discussions with Macau and mainland China to potentially bring back travel.