Great news for those looking forward to further expansion for Singapore’s Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme, with confirmation that Australia and Switzerland are joining the list, meaning more options for quarantine-free trips from next month.
Unfortunately for those keen to head to Australia, the arrangement will be one-way initially, with Singapore welcoming fully vaccinated Australian residents, but Australia initially only accepting Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families at this stage.
“We expect student and business pass holders from Singapore to be able to enter Australia, after Australia has finalised the arrangement for their entry. Other travellers from Singapore would not be able to travel to Australia until a later stage.”
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
Reciprocal arrangements for student and business pass holders from Singapore are expected to be in place by 23rd November, according to The Straits Times.
Australian Prime Minster Scott Morrison recently announced that international visitors should be welcomed into Australia again “before the end of the year”, so hopefully we don’t have too long to wait to make a leisure trip.
Eligible travellers can currently fly from Singapore to Australia on one of SIA’s ‘FEPO flights’.
The latest VTL arrangements will be effective from 8th November 2021.
Singapore Vaccinated Travel Lanes
| Already Running | 🇧🇳 Brunei (one-way) 🇩🇪 Germany 🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇪🇸 Spain 🇬🇧 UK 🇺🇸 USA |
| From 8 Nov | 🇦🇺 Australia (one-way) 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| From 15 Nov | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
As you can see these two additional options will beat the launch of the VTL with South Korea by a week. Don’t forget, the rules are set to be a little more onerous for that particular arrangement.
There are therefore now 13 countries under the Vaccinated Travel Lane arrangement, two of which haven’t opened two-way travel at this stage.
Singapore
Vaccinated Travel Lanes
Key Features
- Must have stayed in a VTL country/region and/or Singapore for 14 days
- Travel to Singapore on designated ‘VTL flights’
- No restrictions on travel purpose or itineraries
- Must be fully vaccinated in Singapore or any VTL country, with an accepted digital proof of vaccination
- Unvaccinated children aged 12 or under can accompany their parents
- Visitors and Singapore pass holders must apply for a VTP in advance
- Two COVID-19 PCR tests replace quarantine / Stay-Home Notice in Singapore
COVID-19 testing: Switzerland
For Switzerland no pre-departure or on-arrival testing is required for fully vaccinated travellers from Singapore, so like most European countries already on the VTL list it’s just a case of taking:
- A pre-departure test within 48 hours of your VTL flight back to Singapore (SQ345)
- An on-arrival test at Changi Airport, followed by a self-isolation period awaiting the test results
A PCR test with a 5-hour results turnaround time is available at Zurich Airport for CHF 149 (around S$220), which is definitely on the expensive side. Hopefully there are cheaper options in the city centre.
In Switzerland you can take a PCR test at all GPs, hospitals, or specially set up test centres.
Unfortunately Switzerland does not accept Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccinations for arriving tourists at the time of writing.
COVID-19 testing: Australia
Those eligible and travelling to Australia will require a pre-departure PCR test, taken within 72 hours of departure from Singapore, in addition to the ‘standard’ two VTL tests on arrival in Singapore.
Here’s how it looks for those eligible to travel, with a testing regime that will almost certainly apply to leisure travellers later this year, once the VTL opens up as a two-way arrangement for all.
VTL
|
| Test | Cost |
| Singapore pre-departure* | S$125 – S$200 |
| Australia pre-departure* | ~S$150 |
| Singapore arrival | S$160 |
| Total | ~S$435 – S$510 |
* Prices vary between providers and locations.
As you can see that means an approximate S$435 – S$510 per head testing cost, for a round-trip.
Vaccination certificate requirements
Passengers travelling on a VTL flight to Singapore will need to show their digitally-verifiable vaccination records, provided they have been fully vaccinated in any VTL country, or in Singapore.
Valid sources are as follows:
For those vaccinated in Singapore:
- A vaccination status on the TraceTogether app or HealthHub app
- A vaccination certificate issued by the Singapore Ministry of Health in English
For those not vaccinated in Singapore:
- Holding an EU Digital COVID certificate (EUDCC) issued by any VTL country 🇪🇺
- With a SMART Health Card – CommonTrust Network for the 🇺🇸 US and 🇨🇦 Canada
- With a COVID Pass in the National Health Service (NHS) mobile app in the 🇬🇧 UK
- With an International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC) issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in 🇦🇺 Australia
- With a vaccination certificate issued by the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), as well as authorised clinics and hospitals in 🇰🇷 South Korea
Singapore says “we are currently working on accepting digitally verifiable vaccination certificates by other issuers. Further details will be shared at a later date”.
Australia’s vaccination requirements
Once Australia opens up further to all vaccinated travellers from Singapore, we expect the following current requirements will still apply in terms of your vaccination status when travelling there:
- Being fully vaccinated with a TGA approved or recognised vaccine, such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen-Cilag, Moderna, Coronavac, or Covishield, at least 7 days prior to arrival in Australia.
- Children under the age of 12 and those who cannot be vaccinated due to a medical condition are exempted from this requirement.
- The vaccination certificate must be in English, i.e. either the Australian Government issued International Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC), or a paper or digital vaccination certification issued by a national or state/provincial level authority or accredited vaccination provider.
Passengers also currently must complete the Australia Travel Declaration at least 72 hours before their flight departure, which is likely to remain a requirement for the foreseeable future.
Designated VTL flights
Singapore Airlines will operate designated VTL flights from Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, and from Zurich in Switzerland.
Scoot will also operate VTL flights from Melbourne and Sydney, while Swiss International Air Lines will operate VTL flights from Zurich. All eligible services start on 8th November.
Melbourne
8th November 2021 – 26th March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
SQ218 A350 Regional |
||||||||
| MEL 00:35 |
SIN 05:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ228 A350 Regional |
||||||||
| MEL 16:40 |
SIN 21:20 |
||||||||
 |
TR19 787-9 |
||||||||
| MEL 19:40 |
SIN 00:45* |
||||||||
* Next day
Sydney
8th November 2021 – 30th November 2021
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ212 A350 Regional |
||||||||
| SYD 09:05 |
SIN 14:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ222 777-300ER |
||||||||
| SYD 16:10 |
SIN 21:20 |
||||||||
|
TR13 787-9 |
||||||||
| SYD 21:45 |
SIN 03:10* |
||||||||
* Next day
1st December 2021 – 26th March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ212 777-300ER^ |
||||||||
| SYD 09:05 |
SIN 14:15 |
||||||||
|
SQ222 A380 |
||||||||
| SYD 16:10 |
SIN 21:20 |
||||||||
|
TR13 787-9 |
||||||||
| SYD 21:45 |
SIN 03:10* |
||||||||
^ A350 Regional on 1 December
* Next day
As expected, Singapore Airlines will deploy its Airbus A380 on the designated VTL flight from Sydney to Singapore from December.
Zurich
8th November 2021 – 26th March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
|
SQ345 A350-900 |
||||||||
| ZRH 10:35 |
SIN 06:00* |
||||||||
 |
LX176 A340-300 |
||||||||
| ZRH 13:10 |
SIN 08:30* |
||||||||
* Next day
The daily quota for passengers arriving via VTL flights will also be increased when these new flights begin, from 3,000 per day now to a new cap of 4,000 per day.
We expect to see additional options on these routes loaded by Qantas Airways in due course.
We will of course be updating our full list of VTL designated flights on all new VTL routes as soon as we receive the details. It’s worth bookmarking for future reference.
KrisFlyer redemptions
These are the one-way KrisFlyer miles redemption rates for flights between Singapore and Australia on SIA flights.
| KrisFlyer Saver Redemption Rates 🇦🇺 (to/from Singapore) |
||
| Adelaide Brisbane Melbourne Sydney (one way) |
Perth (one way) |
|
| Economy | 28,000 |
20,000 |
| Premium Economy | 47,000 |
n/a |
| Business | 62,000 |
36,500 |
| First | 85,000 |
n/a |
These are the one-way KrisFlyer miles redemption rates for flights between Singapore and Switzerland on SIA flights.
| KrisFlyer Saver Redemption Rates 🇨🇭 (to/from Singapore) |
|
| Zurich (one way) |
|
| Economy | 38,000 |
| Premium Economy | 64,500 |
| Business | 92,000 |
| First | 125,000 |
Note that SIA’s Zurich flights are currently being operated by three-class Airbus A350s, which do not have a First Class cabin, so that rate will only be applicable if the route sees an upgrade to Boeing 777-300ERs or back to its (pre-COVID) Airbus A380s.
Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP)
Those entering Singapore on a VTL flight who are not Singapore Citizens or Permanent residents will have to apply for a VTP 7-30 days prior to departure.
VTP applications for those arriving from both Australia and Switzerland will open on 1st November 2021.
Transit passengers can travel on VTL flights
If you’re booked on a designated VTL flight but are transiting in Changi onto another destination, you can still retain your booking and travel on the flight, provided you are fully vaccinated and comply with the pre-departure testing requirements (which are necessary anyway for those transiting in Singapore).
You do not have to apply for a VTP in this case and you are obviously exempt from the on-arrival test at Changi Airport.
Good news is you’ll also now be eligile to roam the terminal and use the lounges during your transit.
Our VTL experience
We travelled over to Frankfurt in early September and flew back via the inaugural Germany – Singapore VTL flight on 7th September 2021. Here’s a step-by-step summary of our experience, which may help you decide whether to give it a try yourself.
Of course you can now thankfully disregard the Day 3 and Day 7 test article, though you may want to read it to see how you’ll benefit from not having to go through that part of the process after you arrive in Singapore! Those additional tests were thankfully ditched in the last VTL process update.
 |
1: Getting a pre-departure COVID-19 test |
 |
2: The departure airport process |
 |
3: The Changi Airport arrival process |
 |
4: Day 3 and Day 7 swab tests |
|
1: Getting a pre-departure COVID-19 test |
|
2: The departure airport process |
|
3: The Changi Airport arrival process |
|
4: Day 3 and Day 7 swab tests |
Summary
It’s great to see Switzerland added to the list of VTL countries offering two-way quarantine-free travel from 8th November, with Singapore Airlines offering a daily flight in both directions.
We await further details of potential extra VTL flight options with Swiss International Air Lines on this route, and will update both this article and our full list of designated VTL flights once we receive any information.
Unfortunately the Australia VTL is a one-way arrangement at the moment, with Singapore welcoming Australian residents for a trip here, but no reciprocation yet in the opposite direction.
Don’t be too down-heartened though, with students and business visitors likely to be added to the Singapore – Australia eligibility list from 23rd November and international visitors sometime in December.
That should give all of us a quarantine-free trip in time to make the most of the Australian summer, while Singapore’s existing quarantine-free arrangements are with countries fast heading into colder weather over the coming months!
Ultimately these new additions will help Singapore rebuild its global aviation hub status, and we certainly look forward to more countries and regions being added to the quarantine-free list.
(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)
Swiss VTL starts from 8th of November, how does the 14 day travel history rule apply here? My understanding is that if one takes the very first VTL out of Switzerland, the passenger has spent 14 days not in the VTL region, or am I reading this wrong?
No problem. If you have been in Switzerland for the last 14 days you can take the first VTL flight to Singapore if you wish (even though Switzerland was non-VTL during that 14-day period).
A380 to resume SIN-ZRH service maybe?
You never know but the ‘Merchant Banker Express’ (SQ345/346) was always heavily dependent on business travellers, who aren’t coming back in the same volumes yet. Maybe a 77W first?
Things may be re-bound faster than you think. IB is going back to in person and office work as opposed to remote…you simply cannot do deals via zoom. Life sciences, which is big in CH, will start travelling next year. And guess where they have their regional APAC HQs? That’s right, SG. Knowing that industry I can assure you there will be a spike in intercontinental travel come next year. The two industries (finance and pharma) likely to travel again make up the large bulk of CH-SG business travel. The “merchants banker express”, as such, should be safe. However, post-Covid may have altered the attractiveness of some routes…perhaps making FRA more lucrative. But the latter is mere speculation.
Hi! Any idea if PCR test taken in downtown Zurich/other parts of Switzerland is recognized for VTL to Singapore? Or can the PCR only be taken at Zurich airport?
A PCR test taken at any GPs, hospitals, or specially set up test centres in Switzerland are accepted. You’ll need to take the test no more than 48 hours before the departure time of SQ345 to Singapore (10:35am).
You can even take the test in another VTL country if you are flying in just to take the SQ345 VTL flight.
Thank you for your reply!
Opening a VTL route to Switzerland is just so tempting, I’m seriously considering it.
On the side note, are there particular place(s) you can think of that does PCR in Zurich?
Interested as to why Perth is showing First Class redemption rate as there are no FC seats available between Perth and Singapore?
Yes that 52,000 miles rate is actually for mixed class bookings between Perth and Zones 1, 2 and 3 (e.g. PER-SIN-MNL), but you would be in Business on the Perth leg and First on the other. It’s a bit misleading for the purposes of this article so I removed it!
Ah OK, understand now. Just wanted to make sure SIA hadn’t started running a 3 class service from Perth. I got all excited for a moment 😂
I don’t believe this statement is correct: “Australia does not accept mixing of approved vaccines (e.g. first shot AstraZeneca, second shot Pfizer).”
Thanks Peter, removed 👍🏼