SINGAPORE, Nov 19 — There will be six daily flights between Changi Airport in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia under the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) scheme that kicks off on Nov 29.

Announcing this on Thursday (Nov 18), the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a press release that the flights will be operated by the following six airlines:

Applications for the vaccinated travel pass for travellers from Malaysia will begin next Monday at 10am.

CAAS said that the conditions for entry into Singapore under the travel scheme with Malaysia are the same as what it has with other countries.

This means that the travellers coming from countries under the scheme may enter Singapore without quarantine and only need to undergo Covid-19 testing.

Children aged 12 years and below who are not vaccinated will be allowed to travel under the scheme into Singapore, if they are accompanied by a traveller.

SIA said in a media statement on Thursday that it will operate 10 weekly return services between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur under the travel lane.

The flights will be plying between the two airports from Nov 29 to March 26 onwards.

They will be open for booking from 10am onwards on Friday and will be indicated as flights under the travel lane on its website progressively.

• SQ108 — Daily flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
• SQ107 — Daily flights between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore
• SQ122 — Flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays
• SQ121 — Flights between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays

As for customers with existing bookings on direct flights scheduled from Nov 29 onwards from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, or the other way round, SIA said that they will be "proactively re-booked” onto new travel lane flights.

However, this will be subject to availability and on condition that they had made the flight bookings with SIA directly. 

 "Singapore Airlines will send them an email with the details of their new flights,” it said.

Customers who do not meet the requirements to be on those flights may request to change to a flight not for vaccinated travellers, through an assistance request form that can be found on its website, SIA added.

SIA’s subsidiary Scoot will operate between the two cities four times weekly from Nov 29 onwards with flights TR472 and TR473.

Short-terms visitors and long-terms pass holders

CAAS said that there will be no restrictions on the purpose of travel under the travel lane arrangement and no requirement for a controlled itinerary or sponsor.

However, short-term visitors and long-term pass holders will still need to apply for a vaccinated travel pass to enter Singapore.

As for fully vaccinated Singapore citizens, permanent residents and children aged 12 and below, they will not need to apply for a vaccinated travel pass to enter Singapore under the scheme.

CAAS added that short-term visitors who need a visa for travel to Singapore must separately obtain one.

"They are advised to do so after receiving their vaccinated travel pass approval and before departing for Singapore,” it said.

Furthermore, they must also buy travel insurance, with a minimum coverage of S$30,000 for Covid-19-related medical treatment and hospitalisation costs, before their trip to Singapore.

All visitors must use the TraceTogether mobile application in Singapore to facilitate contact tracing, CAAS said.

It noted that before the pandemic struck, Malaysia was among the top three markets for annual passenger arrivals at Changi Airport.

"The Singapore-Kuala Lumpur link was also the busiest international air route in the world, with about 40 flights daily and an average of 7,000 arrivals per day at Changi Airport,” it added.

Codesharing flights

Earlier in the day, SIA and Malaysia Airlines jointly announced that they will reactivate their codeshare arrangement between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. This means that both airlines can sell seats on each other’s flights to offer passengers a greater choice of destinations.

The substantial expansion of the codeshare arrangement follows the gradual reopening of international borders and an increase in the demand for air travel, the airlines said.

From Nov 29, SIA passengers will be able to progressively connect on Malaysia Airlines services out of Kuala Lumpur as the carrier adds 15 new codeshare destinations in Malaysia.

They will be Alor Setar, Bintulu, Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Kuching, Labuan, Langkawi, Miri, Penang, Sandakan, Sibu and Tawau.

From Jan 1 next year, Malaysia Airlines’ customers will be able to connect on SIA flights from Singapore to seven points in Europe:

• Barcelona in Spain
• Copenhagen in Denmark
• Frankfurt and Munich in Germany
• Moscow in Russia
• Rome in Italy
• Zurich in Switzerland
• Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa

Other points in both airlines’ network will be progressively added to the codeshare arrangement.

Mr Izham Ismail, group chief executive officer of Malaysia Airlines, said that this would be "very timely considering the upcoming festive season and year-end holidays where residents of both countries have traditionally spent their time either in Singapore or Malaysia”.

Mr Goh Choon Phong, SIA’s chief executive officer, said that it would also help to boost the tourism industries in both countries, as well as the wider Southeast Asia region.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the codeshare flights will be progressively made available for sale through both airlines’ booking channels, they said.

Malaysia-Singapore overland travel

Separately, Johor’s chief minister Hasni Mohammad has reportedly said that land routes between Singapore and Malaysia would reopen at the end of the month.

Singapore’s Chinese news channel 8world reported that Mr Hasni was at a hotel opening in Kota Tinggi, Malaysia, on Thursday and he said that vaccinated travellers from both countries would be able to start moving through the two border checkpoints at Tuas and Woodlands on Nov 29.

In response to TODAY’s queries, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said that Singapore and Malaysia are "working closely” to further restore connectivity between the two countries.

"We have made good progress on our discussion with Malaysia on launching a vaccinated travel lane across our land links,” it said.

The ministry added that many workers from both countries have not been able to see their families for many months and they will be one of its priorities when land borders are reopened, "to allow them to reunite with their families”.

"We hope to finalise the details of the VTL (by land) soon, and will announce it once we do so.” — TODAY