KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Airlines and bus operators in Malaysia are to temporarily stop selling travel tickets to Singapore under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme starting tomorrow until January 20, 2022.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced the suspension today after Singapore detected a Covid-19 cluster involving the highly-transmissible Omicron variant of concern.

“Following the announcement made by Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MoH) would like to announce the temporary suspension of ticket sales for travel between Singapore and Malaysia.

“Ticket sales will restart on January 21, 2020 after risk assessments by both Malaysia and Singapore are done,” Khairy said in a statement.

He also said the quota for ticket sales will be reduced then.

He added that those who have already bought tickets can still travel into Singapore under the VTL scheme, as long as they meet the stipulated requirements.

Malaysia and Singapore initiated the VTL programme for land and air travel on November 29.

Travellers under the VTL initiative can forego mandatory quarantine, but are still required to undergo Covid-19 testing before and after arrival.