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Singapore and Hong Kong will launch a travel bubble to allow transit between the two Asian shopping centers and resurrect economies hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Flights between cities, which have a low number of new cases of daily local transmission, will begin on November 22. Initially there will be one flight per day with a maximum of 200 passengers to Singapore and Hong Kong. This will increase to two daily flights from December 7.
Travelers from Singapore to Hong Kong will be subject to a coronavirus test before and after flying. Those flying from Hong Kong to Singapore will only need to take a pre-departure test.
“As far as I know, this is the first of its kind. . . in the region, if not the world, ”said Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s transport minister. “This is the closest thing to the pre-Covid trips.”
Border closures to contain the pandemic have hit the economies of Asian aviation and trade centers hard.
Singapore entered a recession for the first time since the global financial crisis, and authorities forecast that GDP growth would contract by between 5% and 7% in 2020.
Singapore Airlines said earlier this year it would raise up to S $ 19 billion ($ 14 billion) to counter what it called “the biggest challenge” the group has faced.
Hong Kong has been mired in recession for more than a year, and the pandemic added to the economic woes that began during pro-democracy protests last year.
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s de facto airline, cut nearly a quarter of its staff and shut down its regional Cathay Dragon brand last month.
Other travel bubbles have been established in the region, but they remain more restrictive. Travelers from New Zealand can enter Australia, but Australians cannot travel the other way. So-called express roads between Singapore and some Chinese cities have also been established, but they only apply to essential official and business travel.
“If we can show the world that this is successful, it becomes a good benchmark. . . that other places can see, ”Ong said, adding that he hoped more jurisdictions would be added to the bubble.
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Pre-departure tests will cost HK $ 240 ($ 31) in Hong Kong and up to S $ 200 in Singapore. The cost of the polymerase chain reaction test upon arrival in Hong Kong will be nearly HK $ 500. Arrival tests in Singapore are not required, but passengers will need to download TraceTogether, the city-state tracking app.
The deal will be suspended if there is an increase in coronavirus cases in any of the cities.
Separately, Hong Kong announced more exemptions for mainland Chinese residents to enter the city. Hong Kong residents in neighboring Guangdong province and Macao will be exempt from quarantine upon returning to the city from November 23 if they have a negative Covid-19 test before traveling.
