HK and Singapore set to launch air travel bubble

Hong Kong and Singapore said Monday they would re-launch an air travel bubble on May 26.

The announcement come months after an initial arrangement was postponed, which would have allowed tourists to fly between both cities without having to serve quarantine.

Flights under the air travel bubble arrangement will begin a week from May 26, and frequency of the flights will increase by June 26, pending no further coronavirus outbreaks in either city.

Hong Kong and Singapore had announced the launch of the air travel bubble in November last year, but shelved plans days before it was due to begin after Hong Kong saw a surge in infections.

The air travel bubble comes as both Singapore and Hong Kong seek to boost tourism amid the pandemic, which has seen various countries close borders and caused a plunge in air travel.

Travelers from Hong Kong will need to be fully vaccinated two weeks prior to departing for Singapore, a requirement that will not apply to those going from Singapore to Hong Kong.

They are also required to have spent 14 days in each city before travelling, not including compulsory quarantine periods.

Under the new arrangement, the air travel bubble would be suspended for two weeks if the seven-day moving average of local untraceable coronavirus cases in either city exceed five.

It will only be resumed after the threshold of unlinked cases has been met, with three consecutive days of three or less unlinked infections and a daily moving average of not more than five such cases on the third day.

Travelers from both cities will also be expected to download the tracing apps of the city they are travelling to.