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Hong Kong and Singapore are starting an “air transport bubble” between the two regions. There will be several weekly flights between Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways beginning November 22, and the first day’s flights are already sold out.
What is the “air travel bubble”?
The “air travel bubble” could allow you to travel without self-quarantine, but it would still require a lot of paperwork. COVID-19 testing must be done within 72 hours prior to departure and travel approval requests must be made online at least seven days prior. If travelers test positive for COVID-19 in any of the cities, they will have to bear the full cost of any medical treatment provided.
According to Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung, this was the first travel bubble of its kind and, if successful, it can be used as a model for other countries. He also said that the travel bubble will help “secure a better future” for Singapore and Singapore Airlines.
“I suspect travelers might well be quite careful at first before they gradually become more secure. I suspect that many Singaporeans and Hong Kongers will adopt a wait-and-see attitude until after a while maybe you can take one less test, ”Ong said.
There will be twice-weekly flights on Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific on November 22, slowly increasing to daily flights from December 7. A maximum of 200 people will be allowed on each flight.
Singapore Airlines
At 10 am on November 11, prices went on sale on the Singapore Airlines website, starting at SGD 800 (RM2,450.78) for the flights. However, prices rose steadily to more than SGD 1,100 (RM3369.83) around 3pm for the November 22 flights.
At 4 p.m., there were no seats available for the November 22 flights on Google Flights, according to Channel News Asia. However, when I checked Google Flights today, I could still see a one-way Singapore Airlines flight available starting at RM1,798, much cheaper than when it was first introduced.
Cathay pacific
The Cathay Pacific website showed that its “airline travel bubble” flights for the week of November 22 were mostly booked. Economy fares were going to over SGD 900 (RM2,754.94) and according to Google Flights all seats for Cathay Pacific have been sold out.
As part of the “Air Travel Bubble” deal, both Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific will offer the same special onboard menu for a month of local dishes from both regions. They include dim sum, chicken noodles with soy sauce, carrot cake, and nasi lemak.
Travelers must wear masks on flights. There are also measures to reduce direct contact between crew and passengers, such as eliminating hot towel service.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore have controlled their COVID-19 outbreaks to a great extent. On average, there are around 30 daily cases in Hong Kong and less than 20 daily cases in Singapore. That contrasts with many nations in Europe, as well as the United States and even here in Malaysia.
According to travel data provider OAG, the Hong Kong-Singapore route was one of the busiest international air routes in 2019. There were 13,654 flights a year operated by four airlines.
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