Singapore has introduced more 'vaccinated travel lanes' to include Malaysia, Sweden, and Finland

November 9, 2021:-On Monday, Quarantine-free travel between Singapore and neighboring Malaysia will start from November 29 for vaccinated travelers, the two countries announced.

In a press release on Monday, the health ministry said that Sweden and Finland would be included in Singapore’s so-called “vaccinated travel lanes” from November 29.

Instead of serving quarantines, inoculated travelers from these countries will take Covid-19 tests to ensure they are not infected with the coronavirus.

In a joint statement, Singapore and Malaysia’s prime ministers said that Covid border restrictions have separated families in both countries for many months.

“It is time to resume cross-border travel between both countries, safely progressively,” the two leaders said.

Singapore has launched vaccinated travel lanes with nearly 12 nations, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The city-state is starting its joint vaccinated travel lane arrangements with South Korea on November 15.

“We are also in discussions with our other ASEAN neighbors to reconnect with them, and we will make more announcements when ready,” On Monday, transport Minister S. Iswaran told reporters during a virtual briefing. “We are also in discussions with our partners in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific.”

The travel lane with Malaysia operates only between Singapore’s Changi Airport and Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Before the pandemic disrupted travel, the air route amid Singapore and Kuala Lumpur was the world’s busiest international air route.

The Southeast Asian countries have two land links, but travelers crossing these borders do not qualify for quarantine-free travel.

The two nations look forward to restoring travel across the land links “shortly,” the statement said, adding that there is “good progress in ongoing detailed discussions” to reopen the land borders.

Singapore has allocated a daily quota of 4,000 travelers to cater to arrivals from the 13 VTL countries, which include South Korea, Iswaran said.

“We will increase this to 6,000 when launching the VTL to Malaysia, Finland, and Sweden,” the minister said, that added that the number comes up to “about 8% of the total daily arrivals at Changi pre-Covid.”

“With the launch of the VTLs, there has been an encouraging upward momentum in passenger traffic. Expecting this momentum to continue to rise in the coming months as we extend the VTL to countries and public confidence in air travel recovers,” he said.