SIA boosts VTL flights from 12 cities including London, New York and Paris

Singapore Airlines may have come off feeling a bit bruised when it picked up only 10 of the 42 weekly VTL designated flights between Changi and Kuala Lumpur in the latest regional quarantine scheme with its closest neighbour, but that hasn’t stopped the carrier capitalising on its current dominant position on Europe and US routes.

SIA has announced that from mid-January 2022 it will boost designated VTL flight frequencies on no fewer than 12 routes, by shifting non-VTL services from a host of cities onto the quarantine-free arrangement, thanks to an increased arrivals cap.

These new flights unfortunately don’t come in time for the busy Christmas and New Year holiday season, but could come in useful for those travelling next year.

In total, SIA will operate 147 VTL designated flights per week into Changi once the changes come into effect, in addition to 108 operated by other airlines, for over 250 weekly quarantine-free arrival flights in Singapore.

VTL flight increases

Here’s a summary of the VTL designated flight frequency increases on these 12 routes from mid-January 2022.

Singapore Airlines
VTL Flight Increases

City	VTL Flights
	Before	After
Amsterdam	4/wk	7/wk
Barcelona	3/wk	5/wk
Copenhagen	2/wk	5/wk
Frankfurt	7/wk	14/wk
London	7/wk	14/wk
Milan	3/wk	5/wk
Munich	3/wk	5/wk
New York	7/wk	14/wk
Paris	4/wk	7/wk
Rome	2/wk	5/wk
Seattle	2/wk	4/wk
Vancouver	2/wk	4/wk

The biggest increases are for Frankfurt, London and New York, all of which go from daily to double daily SIA VTL flight options.

Amsterdam and Paris will also increase to daily Singapore Airlines VTL flights.

These increases on existing VTL routes are in addition to new VTL designation for three weekly flights from Houston and Manchester, which we previously announced, also commencing in mid-January.

If you’re not familiar, here’s a summary of how the VTL works:

  VTL: All you need to know

Here’s how these schedule changes look city-by-city.

Amsterdam

Singapore Airlines is currently operating four weekly VTL flights from Amsterdam to Singapore.

From 17th January 2022, SQ323 will also operate three times weekly as a VTL flight from Amsterdam to Singapore.

17th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ323 A350-900
AMS 10:25		SIN 05:55*
	SQ329 A350-900
AMS 10:25		SIN 05:55*

* Next day

This will effectively give SIA daily service on the route.

See the full Amsterdam – Singapore VTL flight schedule, including these new flights and those operated by KLM below (click to expand).

Barcelona

Singapore Airlines is currently operating three weekly VTL flights from Barcelona to Singapore.

From 19th January 2022, SQ377 will also operate twice weekly as a VTL flight from Barcelona to Singapore, via Milan as with existing services.

19th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ377 A350-900
BCN 09:50		SIN 07:35*
	SQ379 A350-900
BCN 09:50		SIN 07:35*

* Next day

In total there will then be five weekly SIA VTL flights from Barcelona to Singapore. 

See the full Barcelona – Singapore VTL flight schedule including these new flights below (click to expand).

 

Copenhagen

Singapore Airlines is currently operating two weekly VTL flights from Copenhagen to Singapore.

From 19th January 2022, SQ351 will also operate twice weekly as a VTL flight from Copenhagen to Singapore.

19th January 2022 – 29th January 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ351 A350-900
CPH 12:30		SIN 07:30*
	SQ353 A350-900
CPH 12:30		SIN 07:30*

From February 2022 an additional SQ351 flight is added.

2nd February 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ351 A350-900
CPH 12:30		SIN 07:30*
	SQ353 A350-900
CPH 12:30		SIN 07:30*

* Next day

In total there will then be five weekly SIA VTL flights from Copenhagen to Singapore. 

See the full Copenhagen – Singapore VTL flight schedule including these new flights below (click to expand).

 

Frankfurt

Singapore Airlines is currently operating daily VTL flights from Frankfurt to Singapore.

From 17th January 2022, SQ25 will also operate daily as a VTL flight from Frankfurt to Singapore, as a continuation of its New York – Frankfurt – Singapore routing.

17th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ25 777-300ER
FRA 11:40		SIN 06:50*
	SQ325 777-300ER
FRA 21:55		SIN 17:15*

* Next day

This will give SIA twice-daily VTL service on the route, including a late morning and evening departure timing, for early morning and evening arrival respectively in Singapore.

Both flights will also offer a First Class cabin.

See the full Frankfurt – Singapore VTL flight schedule, including these new flights and those operated by Lufthansa below (click to expand).

 

London

Singapore Airlines is currently operating daily A380 VTL flights from London to Singapore.

Between 9th December 2021 and 22nd December 2021 there’s a previously announced temporary increase in VTL flights with the addition of four times weekly SQ321 services using an Airbus A350.

9th December 2021 – 22nd December 2021

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ317 A380
LHR 10:55		SIN 07:50*
	SQ321 A350
LHR 22:05		SIN 19:00*

* Next day

That service doesn’t continue, but from 17th January 2022, SQ319 will operate daily as a VTL flight from London to Singapore.

17th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ317 A380
LHR 10:55		SIN 07:50*
	SQ319 777-300ER
LHR 20:35		SIN 17:30*

* Next day

This will give SIA twice-daily VTL service on the route, with both morning and evening departure timings.

See the full London – Singapore VTL flight schedule, including these new flights and those operated by British Airways below (click to expand).

 

Milan

Singapore Airlines is currently operating three weekly VTL flights from Milan to Singapore.

From 19th January 2022, SQ377 will also operate twice weekly as a VTL flight from Milan to Singapore.

19th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ377 A350-900
MXP 12:40		SIN 07:35*
	SQ379 A350-900
MXP 12:40		SIN 07:35*

* Next day

In total there will then be five weekly SIA VTL flights from Milan to Singapore. 

See the full Milan – Singapore VTL flight schedule, including these new flights and a temporary December increase on the route, below (click to expand).

 

Munich

Singapore Airlines is currently operating three weekly VTL flights from Munich to Singapore.

From 20th January 2022, SQ331 will also operate twice weekly as a VTL flight from Munich to Singapore on Thursdays and Sundays, with slightly earlier timings.

20th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ331 A350-900
MUC 12:20		SIN 07:00*
	SQ331 A350-900
MUC 13:15		SIN 07:55*

* Next day

In total there will then be five weekly SIA VTL flights from Munich to Singapore. 

See the full Munich – Singapore VTL flight schedule including these new flights below (click to expand).

 

New York

Singapore Airlines is currently operating seven weekly non-stop VTL flights from New York to Singapore, via the non-stop route or a one-stop through Frankfurt.

From 17th January 2022, SQ25 which operates to Singapore via Frankfurt will also pick up VTL status on a daily basis.

17th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ25 777-300ER
JFK 20:15		SIN 06:50*
	SQ23 A350-900 ULR
JFK 21:40		SIN 05:20*

* Two days later

In total there will then be 14 weekly SIA VTL flights from New York to Singapore, including a First Class VTL option with SQ25.

See the full New York – Singapore VTL flight schedule including these new flights below (click to expand).

 

Paris

Singapore Airlines is currently operating four weekly non-stop VTL flights from Paris to Singapore.

From 18th January 2022, SQ335 will also operate three times weekly as a VTL flight from Paris to Singapore.

18th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ335 777-300ER
CDG 10:40		SIN 06:15*
	SQ337 777-300ER
CDG 10:40		SIN 06:15*

* Next day

This will give SIA daily VTL service on the route.

See the full Paris – Singapore VTL flight schedule, including these new flights and those operated by Air France below (click to expand).

 

Rome

Singapore Airlines is currently operating two weekly VTL flights from Rome to Singapore.

From 19th January 2022, SQ351 will also operate twice weekly as VTL flights from Rome to Singapore, via Copenhagen as with existing services.

19th January 2022 – 29th January 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ351 A350-900
FCO 08:40		SIN 07:30*
	SQ353 A350-900
FCO 08:40		SIN 07:30*

* Next day

From February 2022 an additional SQ351 flight is added.

2nd February 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ351 A350-900
FCO 08:40		SIN 07:30*
	SQ353 A350-900
FCO 08:40		SIN 07:30*

* Next day

In total there will then be five weekly SIA VTL flights from Rome to Singapore. 

See the full Rome – Singapore VTL flight schedule including these new flights below (click to expand).

 

Seattle

Singapore Airlines is set to operate two weekly VTL flights from Seattle to Singapore from early December this year.

From 18th January 2022, SQ27 will also operate twice weekly as a VTL flight from Seattle to Singapore, via Vancouver as with SQ29 services.

18th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ27 A350-900
SEA 11:00		SIN 22:05*
	SQ29 A350-900
SEA 11:00		SIN 22:05*

* Next day

In total there will then be four weekly SIA VTL flights from Seattle to Singapore. 

See the full Seattle – Singapore VTL flight schedule including these new flights below (click to expand).

 

Vancouver

Singapore Airlines is set to operate two weekly VTL flights from Vancouver to Singapore from early December this year.

From 18th January 2022, SQ27 will also operate twice weekly as a VTL flight from Vancouver to Singapore.

18th January 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ27 A350-900
YVR 13:15		SIN 22:05*
	SQ29 A350-900
YVR 13:15		SIN 22:05*

* Next day

In total there will then be four weekly SIA VTL flights from Vancouver to Singapore. 

See the full Vancouver – Singapore VTL flight schedule including these new flights below (click to expand).

 

All designated VTL flights

We’ve updated our full and continually updated list of designated VTL flights allowing you to arrive quarantine-free in Singapore, with over a dozen airlines now included in the scheme.

Each airline website will obviously only show you its own flight options, so be sure to bookmark the page – an essential resource when planning your VTL trip.

Summary

Singapore Airlines will operate over 40 additional weekly VTL options on these 12 routes from mid-January 2022, in addition to the recently announced Houston and Manchester services, a significant ramp-up for the quarantine-free scheme.

Even before we hear about additional designated flights from India, Indonesia, the UAE and Qatar, which should be announced soon, there will be over 250 designated VTL flights into Changi each week by late January next year, a far cry from the scheme’s humble beginnings with just a few arrivals from Brunei and Germany.

Hopefully these latest increases will help more travellers to secure designated VTL services to Singapore, not to mention improving SIA’s fortunes through increased passenger demand for quarantine-free flights.

(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)