The commercial flights between Singapore and India will resume from November 29, according to the recent arrangement between the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India. The announcement that came after a meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Singapore Transport Minister S. Iswaran will facilitate quarantine-free travel under Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme.
As such, India will start six designated daily flights from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai to Singapore from next week.
India-Singapore travel guidelines
Under the VTL scheme, the passenger must submit two negative COVID-19 test certificates – one within 48 hours of the journey and another on arrival PCR test at Singapore. The passenger must undergo self-quarantine until the arrival test result comes as negative. The children under two and below age are exempted from taking COVID-19 tests. Besides, the passenger must have spent at least 14 consecutive days in India to qualify under VTL.
Passengers must apply for a VTL pass (VTP) between seven to 60 days of their intended entry into Singapore. They can apply for the visa after VTP approval. The guidelines are applicable to both short-term and long-term travellers. The application for VTP is open for submission from November 22.
According to CAAS, the applicants should carry their passport, digital proof of vaccination and an address in Singapore where they will remain in self-isolation. The Government also insists on purchasing travel insurance with a minimum coverage of SGD 30,000 (USD 22,000) for COVID-19 related medical treatment and hospitalisation costs. The passengers have to use Singapore's contact tracing mobile app TraceTogether.
The passengers who wish to travel under the VTL scheme must take VLT-designated flights.
Non-VTL India-Singapore flights
According to CAAS, the airlines can also operate flights that are non-VTL. The passengers arriving via such non-VTL flights to Singapore are subject to health check requirements issued by the Singapore Government, primarily a COVID-19 test and a seven-day Stay Home Notice upon arrival in Singapore.
The airlines will soon announce the schedules for VTL and non-VTL flights to Singapore.
Alongside India, Singapore has also resumed the flights from Indonesia and Malaysia from November 29. The flights from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence from December 6.
