Singapore plans Air Travel Bubbles for general travellers to revive Changi air hub

Singapore

SINGAPORE is hoping to establish Air Travel Bubbles with safe countries or regions that would allow general travellers to cross borders without a controlled itinerary, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Tuesday.

These Air Travel Bubbles are not the same as Reciprocal Green Lanes, which are for official and essential business travel, he added. Singapore currently has green lanes with Brunei, China, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.

In a ministerial statement on the recovery of the aviation sector, Mr Ong said the risks can be further managed by setting a quota on the number of travellers per day and ensuring that everyone abides by a Covid-19 test protocol.

Travellers would also need to apply for an Air Travel Pass before their journeys, to allow the authorities to plan for their arrivals and throttle down the numbers if the epidemic situation changes, he said.

"Hong Kong has publicly announced its intention to establish ATBs with several countries, including Singapore, and we have responded positively. We hope to commence discussions with Hong Kong and other partners soon," Mr Ong told parliament.

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This comes as the minister warned that Singapore faces increasing risk of losing its status as an air hub and its attractiveness as a place to invest, the longer its borders remain closed.

It is the reason the Republic needs to take proactive steps to revive the Changi air hub, Mr Ong said, calling it a "top national priority".

He also noted that the situation has changed since Singapore closed six months ago.

For one, the virus situation in Singapore remains stable and is largely under control and Singapore is on track to boost its testing capacity to 40,000 per day by November, he said.

Testing technology has also improved, allowing quicker turnarounds while possibly becoming less intrusive, he added. At the same time, Singapore has scaled up its contact tracing capability with the help of technology.

Industry observers told The Business Times they were optimistic about the government's plans to revive the heavily-battered air travel sector, but they pointed out that its success hinges on several factors, chief of which is having the capacity to carry out effective and convenient Covid-19 tests on both sides.

"If you're going away for a holiday for one week, you can't have quarantine, that just kills the demand. So you're looking for basically testing instead of quarantine... and no onerous restrictions," Brendan Sobie, an analyst from Sobie Aviation, said.

Ang Choo Pin, Asia managing director at online travel agency Expedia Group, said trust is the core of the problem, adding that there needs to be a "tamper-proof" regime that integrates testing, certification and verification on both ends of the travel journey to allow free travel in and out of Singapore.

Raising travellers' confidence is another factor, said UOB Kay Hian analyst Ajith K, as travel insurance is unlikely to cover any Covid-19-related illnesses. "At some point, the state will probably have to work with insurers. They'll charge, but I think a lot of travellers wouldn't mind paying for Covid-19-related travel insurance," Mr Ajith said.

While Air Travel Bubbles are a promising lifeline for the aviation sector, Mr Sobie believes passenger traffic at Changi Airport will recover at a slow and gradual pace."I don't see traffic improving by more than 10 or 20 per cent, so to have Changi be down by less than 80 per cent even six months from now would be probably unlikely," Mr Sobie said.

The airport is now serving just 1.5 per cent of its usual passenger volume, according to the transport minister.

In the meantime, online travel firm Klook said it is not resting on its laurels, believing that domestic travel will help pave the way forward for a "multi-staged" recovery, its South-east Asia marketing director Sarah Wan told BT.

After all, a December vacation abroad is looking increasingly unlikely with borders still shut in most parts of the world, Mr Ong said. He said: "I need to manage expectations here. For Members who are hoping to hear announcements on some air-travel resumption and even possible December holiday destinations, I am sorry I will disappoint you."

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