Singaporeans and Hong Kongers itching to travel or bored out of their minds can soon escape to each other’s cities.
The Air Travel Bubble program which allows leisure travel without restriction officially begins Nov. 22, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore announced today.
“The good progress in containing the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore and Hong Kong has given us the confidence to reopen our borders gradually, with safeguards in place to ensure our public health and safety,” the authority said in a statement.
First teased last month, the program requires that all travelers be tested for the coronavirus before boarding designated flights of 200 passengers.
The arrangement is aimed at reviving air travel safely at both aviation hubs. The daily flights operated by Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific will increase to two per day on Dec. 7.
No advance itineraries will be required, and travelers are not subject to quarantine upon arrival. Travelers have to test negative on a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test no more than 72 hours prior to departure. Another round of tests will be administered upon arrival.
If new daily cases during a one-week period exceed a certain number in either country, the arrangement will be suspended two weeks, the authority added.
Singapore began discussing the travel arrangement last month with Hong Kong after it announced safe travel arrangements with 11 countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and New Zealand.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore have recorded an average of fewer than 10 daily cases during the past week.
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