SafeTravel website disrupted for 5 hours following surge in travel pass applications

SINGAPORE'S website to apply for vaccinated travel passes crashed on Monday morning (Nov 22) after a surge of users tried to log in when the application portal opened for travellers from Malaysia and Indonesia at 10am.

There was an "immediate surge" of 35,000 users trying to log in, resulting in disruption of the SafeTravel website. Its operations resumed at 3pm, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Monday night.

"ICA had upscaled the system over the weekend in anticipation, but there was an error in the configuration. We regret the inconvenience caused and thank applicants for the understanding," the statement read.

The ICA spokesperson added that there is no quota for vaccinated travel passes issued for air travel, and that Singaporeans and permanent residents do not need to apply for the passes to enter Singapore.

The much-awaited vaccinated travel lane (VTL) between Singapore and Malaysia opens on Nov 29, with 6 airlines operating daily flights between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Before the pandemic hit, the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur link was the busiest international air route in the world, with about 40 daily flights and an average of 7,000 arrivals daily at Changi Airport.

Authorities have said that land links between the 2 countries could reopen by end-November.

Fully-vaccinated travellers from Indonesia will also be able to enter Singapore on VTL flights from Nov 29.