S’pore Working With Australia To Set Up Travel Bubble By July, We May Be Able To See Koalas Again

Singapore Working With Australia On Travel Bubble That Will Potentially Start In July 2021

UPDATE (2.37pm, 14 Mar): The Straits Times (ST) reports that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has confirmed they’re in discussions with Australia on an air travel bubble.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has led to countries closing borders for general purposes, due to fears of spread. But a year on, countries have travel bubbles set up with each other.

Singapore has several travel bubbles with other countries, but Australia isn’t one of them — for now, at least.

However, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said that one is in the works, potentially starting Jul.

With Covid-19 cases low in both countries, the potential is high.

Australia says travel bubble in the works

Under the proposed deal, travellers between Singapore and Australia won’t need to quarantine upon entry.

Source

Australian media Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported that Australians would be able to travel to Singapore for work or leisure without government approval.

However, they’ll need to be vaccinated.

Those who can benefit from the travel bubble include the following, SMH said:

• Returning Australians
• International students
• Business travellers

Meanwhile, Singaporeans who’ve taken the jab would also be able to travel to Australia without the 2-week hotel quarantine.

Singapore confirms air travel bubble being discussed

ST reported on Sunday (14 Mar) that the MFA confirmed the discussions with Australia.

The terms would include travelling between the 2 countries without quarantine requirements.

They also said that they are working on recognising each other’s vaccination certs, and resuming travel with priority for students and business travellers.

Digital vaccine certificates required

The plan would largely depend on whether Singapore and Australia will recognise each others’ digital vaccine certificates.

Australia, for their part, appear confident that they can sync their digital vaccine certs with other countries’.

Meanwhile, Singapore has developed digital verification of health documents, and is looking to extend this to vaccine certificates.

If these plans come to fruition, we may well have that travel bubble set up by Jul.

Exciting news for both countries

Currently, Australians only self-isolate in Singapore until they get tested negative for Covid-19.

Both Singapore and Australia have a low number of Covid-19 cases, making the current travel bubble feasible.

This will also help bolster both countries’ tourism as well as aviation industries.

If you’re missing koalas and travel in general, Singaporeans may wish to watch these developments closely.

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Featured image adapted from Unsplash.