Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble to be relaunched on May 26

Dhaka: Singapore and Hong Kong are to relaunch their travel bubble on May 26, both destinations announced on April 26.

Stricter conditions will be introduced for the travel bubble's resumption. This includes travellers having to remain in Singapore or Hong Kong in the last 14 days prior to departure, excluding any time spent in quarantine or stay-home notice.

Hong Kong also requires its residents to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before departing on the flights, with some exceptions made for children and those not suitable for vaccination on medical grounds.

The travel bubble will be suspended if the seven-day moving average of unlinked community cases in either city increases to above five. It can only resume when the Covid-19 situation has stabilised, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

The travel bubble was originally scheduled to begin in November last year, but was deferred due to a rise in corona cases in Hong Kong.

Under the travel bubble, there are no restrictions on the purpose of travel and no requirements for a controlled itinerary or sponsorship. Visitors have to take pre-departure and on-arrival Covid-19 swab tests and travel on designated flights operated by Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

The Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble will begin "cautiously", with one flight a day in each direction, said Singapore’s Ministry of Transport. Each flight will have a cap of 200 passengers, with the numbers reviewed after the first two weeks.