Singapore and Hong Kong Begin Air Travel Bubble by the End of November

Starting on November 22, Singapore and Hong Kong will begin an air travel bubble initiative to allow the improvement of the tourism industry in both locations.

Singapore and Hong Kong plan to begin an air travel bubble at the end of November. By doing so, travelers from either city will not have to go through quarantine procedures when visiting the other, permitting improvement in the tourism industry of both locations.

Beginning on November 22, tourists from either locality must undergo a COVID-19 test and have a negative result before traveling, during arrival, and before leaving.  Each air bubble travel flight shall merely accommodate 200 passengers. Only a single flight per day shall be allowed, increasing to two per day starting on December 7.

The said air travel bubble shall be permitted as long as both cities do not attain a continuous 7-day upsurge of more than five COVID-19 cases. If this happens, however, flights shall be suspended for a couple of weeks to control possible transmission of the virus.

“Hong Kong and Singapore are similar in terms of epidemic control. Both are regional aviation hubs and international cities, enjoying strong trade, investment, finance, tourism and people-to-people ties. The revival of cross-border air travel between the two places is of utmost importance,” according to Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development.

Yau stresses on the necessity of improving the retail, hotel, tourism, and aviation industries in Hong Kong. He posits that the planned air travel bubble may add a huge boost to the economic situation of the country.

Additionally, Hong Kong officials announce that residents coming from Macau or Guangdong province shall be allowed to enter the country starting November 23 without further need for quarantine procedures as long as they test negative from COVID-19. Nevertheless, they also have to register in advance. Also, the said exemption shall only be a one-way provision and Hong Kong residents who plan to travel to mainland China shall still be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

To guarantee the safety of travelers and residents alike, the air travel bubble initiative shall put in place a daily quota temporarily. This will also inhibit overcrowding, stresses Tommy Yuen, director of special duties at the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau.

The need to prevent the resurgence of rapid COVID-19 transmission in both Hong Kong and Singapore is crucial. As of writing, Singapore has a record of 58,091 total cases while Hong Kong has only 5,408.

Various countries are now considering the necessary step of reopening their borders to outside travelers via some sort of air travel bubble arrangement. The coronavirus pandemic has already taken a total of 1,289,533 lives worldwide and continuous infection is still a major global concern.

Simultaneously, the need to rebuild economic stability is another huge consternation. The tourism industry has always been one of the major sources of revenue globally. The vast impact of the pandemic to tourism may be gradually solved by initiating air travel bubble flights, permitting a limited number of visitors to visit popular tourist hotspots without threatening the government’s efforts toward eradicating COVID-19 infection. To date, a global total of 52,432,517 cases is recorded.