Singapore VTLs to take in Vietnam, extend to Penang, Bali and all India cities

NEW Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) will be launched for Greece and Vietnam from as early as Mar 16, 2022, announced the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Friday (Mar 4).

Travellers from both countries may enter Singapore under these VTLs on or after Mar 16, while Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) applications for these countries will open on Mar 13, 2022 from 10 am.

Short-term visitors and eligible work permit holders must apply for a VTP to enter Singapore under the VTL. Those who need not apply for a VTP to enter Singapore under the VTL comprise fully-vaccinated Singapore citizens, Permanent Residents, all other long-term pass and in-principal approval (IPA) holders as well as children under 12.

CAAS also said it will broaden its travel history requirement for the VTL to include the entire European Economic Area (EEA), which consists of 27 European Union member states, from Mar 16.

This means travellers who have been any country within the EEA - including transit stops - within the last 7 days before departure to Singapore may count their stay in the EEA country towards fulfilling the 7-day VTL travel history requirement.

Such an arrangement will enable greater flexibility for travellers visiting or coming from Europe to plan their journeys, said the authority.

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The news comes ahead of Greece's international shipping exhibition Posidonia 2022, which is scheduled to take place this year from Jun 6 to Jun 10 in Athens.

Highlighting Vietnam's plans to reopen its borders for international tourism from Mar 15, CAAS said its launch of the VTL from Vietnam will see it restoring 2-way, quarantine-free travel with the country - which was deemed a popular destination for many Singaporeans before Covid-19.

In its press statement, CAAS said it was also deepening its air links with Malaysia, Indonesia and India by extending the VTL to more of these countries' cities. (see amendment note) 

With effect from Mar 16, the VTL for Malaysia will extend beyond Kuala Lumpur to include Penang, starting with 4 daily flights each way between Singapore and Penang. The VTL for Indonesia will also extend beyond Jakarta to include Bali-Denpasar, starting with 2 daily flights from Bali-Denpasar to Singapore. 

Meanwhile, the VTL for India will include all Indian cities beyond Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. Airlines planning to operate under the VTL from these points may submit their plans for designated flights to CAAS for approval.

Commenting on the latest developments announced by CAAS, Transport Minister S Iswaran said the steps taken to expand Singapore's VTLs comes as part of the nation's plans to press on with the safe reopening of its borders and reclaim its position as a global business and aviation hub.

"With these moves, our plans to reopen our borders progressively and safely remain on track," he wrote in a Mar 4 Facebook post.

"Taken together, the VTLs with Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam will deepen connectivity with our Asean neighbours, with whom we have longstanding economic and people-to-people ties."

As at end-Thursday (Mar 3), CAAS said it has issued 348,518 VTPs to travellers from over 30 countries and regions which Singapore has established VTLs with since Sep 8, 2021. 456,215 VTL travellers have entered Singapore within the same period.

The authority said it will continue to monitor the public health situation closely as the global Covid-19 situation evolves, and stand ready to adjust Singapore's border measures with the appropriate safeguards quickly to ensure public health and safety.

"This will enable us to transition safely and confidently towards a Covid-19 resilient nation," it added.

Following CAAS's announcement, Singapore Airlines (SIA) unveiled plans to further expand its VTL network to a total of 66 cities in 27 countries from Mar 16.

In a press statement dated Mar 4, the national flag carrier said the latest expansion of Singapore’s VTL arrangements will provide greater travel options and flexibility for its customers.

New Indian cities to be added to SIA’s VTL network include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Kolkata. Denpasar, Penang (Malaysia), along with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam are also to be included.

SIA also intends to progressively convert more non-VTL flights to VTL flights in existing VTL destinations such as India’s Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai from Mar 17, as well as Bangkok (Thailand), London (England), Male (Maldives), as well as Cambodia’s Phnom Penh and Siem Reap from April 2022.

SIA added that its low-cost subsidiary Scoot intends to progressively include some of these cities to its own VTL network along with Athens (Greece), Manila (the Philippines), and Indian cities Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam.

“We continue to see strong demand for our VTL services, and we will adjust our network in a calibrated manner accordingly,” said an SIA spokesperson. 

Amendment note: This article has been edited for clarity. 

READ MORE: 

• Singapore expands VTLs to new destinations

• Singapore simplifies Covid-19 border measures; new VTLs with Hong Kong, Philippines, among others

• Closing VTLs now will not stop spread of Omicron: Covid taskforce

• Expanding VTLs: reconnecting Singapore with the rest of the world

• VTLs with 5 more countries including Indonesia, India; Malaysia land links reopening soon