Quarantine clause scrapped for jabbed flyers visiting Singapore – Times of India

Kolkata News

Kolkata: From March 16, vaccinated flyers from Kolkata can now travel to Singapore without having to undergo any mandatory quarantine. The decision has come as a huge relief to flyers as well as the travel trade industry that has been at wit’s end over poor loads since Singapore Airlines had resumed operations in November 2021.
With Singapore Airlines being the only operator carrying passengers to and from Singapore daily, it has been assigned the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) status, paving the way for people to travel without getting quarantined on arrival in Singapore from next week.
“On these flights, passengers can travel without any restrictions on the purpose of the trip. No quarantine is required. Hence on such flights, the window opens for travellers for tourism, visiting friends and family and for business and meetings,” explained Travel Agents’ Association of India chairman (east) Manav Soni.
Prior to the pandemic, there were at least three operators — Singapore Airlines, IndiGo and Air India Express — that used to operate direct flights between Kolkata and Singapore. Thai Airways also used to operate a flight in the sector via Bangkok. So far, however, Singapore Airlines is the only carrier who has resumed the operation.
“This is great news for the travel trade industry ahead of the Easter break and summer vacation. We expect good traffic to Singapore and Thailand in the coming months. Other airlines may also consider resuming their pre-pandemic flights to and from Singapore,” said Travel Agents’ Federation of India chairman Anil Punjabi.
According to airline officials, though the flight from Singapore to Kolkata has been operating with decent loads of 70%-80%, the return flight has had very poor loads of 20%-30% due to the quarantine issue. Now that it will no longer be required, the loads on the return flight will also go up, said travel agents.
“I have a garments business in Singapore and before the pandemic, I used to travel twice a week to Singapore from Kolkata. However, I have been operating the business remotely over the last two years. I have already booked a ticket for the March 16 flight, the first day when VTL flights will start operating from Kolkata,” said Kripal Singh Khurana, a resident of Park Street and a frequent traveller to Singapore.
The Singapore Airlines flight to Kolkata had received a fillip in December 2021 when India removed Singapore from the red list, thereby doing away with the mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival in Kolkata. But with Singapore Airlines operating a non-VTL flight from Kolkata and a VTL flight from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, passengers who wished to travel to Singapore did so via these cities.
“Short-term visitors and Singapore work permit holders who wish to travel on the VTL services need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) prior to their visa application. VTP applications must be made between three and 60 calendar days before the intended date of entry into Singapore. Customers must also ensure that they are eligible to travel under the VTL arrangements before their flight. Short-term visitors from India may only enter Singapore via the Vaccinated Travel Lane or the Familial Ties Lane,” the SIA statement added.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/quarantine-clause-scrapped-for-jabbed-flyers-visiting-singapore/articleshow/90063772.cms