Due of Omicron worries, Singapore and Malaysia have put a halt to ticket sales for vaccinated travel

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Singapore announced on Wednesday that it would cease sales of aeroplane and bus tickets to passengers from two dozen nations with which it had created vaccinated travel lanes, a setback for a scheme that the island nation had hoped would help it recover from the pandemic.

In response to the rapid spread of the Omicron version of the coronavirus, it joined other countries in the Asia-Pacific area in banning quarantine-free entrance.

 

The suspension will begin on Thursday and last until January 20, according to Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority.
Travelers with tickets will be excluded from the freeze, but others will be subject to current border procedures, which include 14-day quarantines, according to the government.
The administration has stated that after Jan. 20, ticket sales will be capped at half of current levels.

Fully vaccinated tourists from countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, India, Malaysia, and the United States were allowed to enter Singapore through aircraft or buses under the scheme, although they were needed to have regular Covid tests.
Malaysia, too, declared on Wednesday a moratorium on ticket sales to vaccinated visitors wanting to enter from Singapore until January 20.

 

Singapore was a pioneer in introducing protected travel lanes to aid tourism recovery, but the scheme has had its ups and downs.
Due to an increase in viral infections, Singapore's travel bubble with Hong Kong was terminated last year.

Thailand put an end to a tourism promotion programme that began last month when it reinstated the requirement for foreign visitors to be quarantined, which took effect on Wednesday.
The government said it will temporarily block new applications for the so-called sandbox programme, which has enabled visitors to travel around freely as long as they kept inside the island or region where they landed, except for the island of Phuket.

 

Travelers who are completely vaccinated can still enter Cambodia without having to go through quarantine.
It also lifted a travel ban imposed on southern African countries.

 

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Edited December 23, 2021 by ASEAN NOW Content Team