Coronavirus: Australia to start quarantine-free travel bubble with Singapore soon, Scott Morrison says
- The Australian PM said the arrangement could be rolled out ‘within the next week’
- It will first be focused on allowing vaccinated students and business visitors to travel freely between the two countries
The arrangement will first be focused on allowing vaccinated students and business travellers to travel freely between the two countries, before opening up to tourists, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
Two Australian states, New South Wales and Victoria, have already scrapped their mandatory hotel quarantine from November 1, after meeting vaccination targets. New South Wales had last week stated that international travel would resume from November 1 for fully vaccinated travellers, although this would first only apply to Australian citizens and permanent residents.
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“We anticipate that being able to be achieved within the next week or so, as we would open up to more visa class holders coming out of Singapore, we will see that occur,” Morrison reportedly said.
Morrison added that the travel bubble would be open to states and territories that were open “in the same way as they are here in Sydney” and that it aligned with the timetable Australian carrier Qantas has announced for its flights to and from Singapore.
Separately, Qantas said on Friday that it would speed up plans to restart flights to many destinations and upsize some planes amid “massive demand” for international flying as quarantine restrictions ease for Australian citizens.
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“There is massive demand for Australians wanting to see their family and relatives,” said Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce.
“There is massive demand for loved ones wanting to get together for Christmas. There is demand for people wanting to take that holiday that they have been looking forward to for nearly two years,” he added.
Qantas is set to launch a new route from Sydney to Delhi on December 6 while bringing forward plans for flights to Singapore, Fiji, Johannesburg, Bangkok and Phuket.
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Lee added that he had encouraged Morrison to do so when he visited Singapore in June.
“Singapore and Australia have robust economic and investment links, and warm people-to-people ties. Look forward to resuming close connectivity between our countries, as we move towards an endemic Covid future,” said Lee.
Singapore welcomed on Wednesday the first travellers under an expanded quarantine-free programme after Singapore Airlines flights arrived at Changi airport from Amsterdam and London under the vaccinated travel lanes.
Singapore Airlines will start A380 flights to Sydney from December 1 to increase capacity on the route ahead of Christmas, the carrier said on Friday.
