Singapore has confirmed it will defer its planned Air Travel Bubble with Hong Kong to an unspecified date in the future.
The ATB was slated for launch on May 26, and would have allowed for quarantine free travel between Hong Kong and Singapore.
However, in light of rising unlinked community cases in Singapore, former Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said on May 14 that Singapore is “not likely” to meet the resumption criteria for the ATB by May 26.
The resumption criteria for the ATB specifies that it will be suspended for at least 14 days if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local Covid-19 cases is more than five in either Singapore or Hong Kong.
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On May 17, Singapore’s Transport Ministry said newly appointed Transport Minister S Iswaran had met and agreed with Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau to defer the ATB.
"Both sides ... agreed to defer the launch of the air travel bubble to protect the health of travellers and the public in these two places,” said MOT.
This was the second time the ATB was deferred, after it was initially supposed to be launched on November 22, 2020. Back then, Ong announced a day before the start date that the ATB will be postponed, in response to rising Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong.
Despite this, MOT said the two sides are “strongly committed to launching the ATB safely.”
Singapore and Hong Kong will closely monitor the public health situation in both places, and review the new launch date of the ATB flights towards the end of the so-called “Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)” in Singapore, which ends on June 13.
The ministry added travellers may still continue their journey on non-designated ATB flights, but will be subject to the prevailing border control and health requirements of both places.
Airlines will be contacting affected passengers to render assistance, and passengers may also reach out to their airlines regarding their travel plans.
