Revealed: Singapore Airlines India VTL flight schedule

After nearly two years, passenger flights between Singapore and India will finally be restarting at the end of this month, following India’s reopening to fully vaccinated tourists since 15th November and Singapore’s inclusion of the country on its Vaccinated Travel Lane scheme from 29th November.

Singapore Airlines has now revealed its VTL flight schedule, and there will be a total of three daily designated VTL flights from three cities initially (one per city per day):

• Chennai
• Delhi
• Mumbai

The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group welcomes the agreement to resume scheduled passenger services between Singapore and India…

Subject to regulatory approval, SIA will operate daily VTL services from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai to Singapore from 29 November 2021. These flights are open for booking, and will be indicated as VTL flights on our website accordingly.

Singapore Airlines

Even the airline’s Airbus A380 makes an appearance on the Mumbai route from mid-December, giving travellers another quarantine-free Suites option in addition to London and Sydney, not to mention the carrier’s latest long-haul Business Class product.

Edit: Singapore Airlines removed the A380 from its Mumbai VTL route, after first announcing it earlier.

Flights are now available for booking.

Here’s how the schedules look.

Chennai

Chennai – Singapore will see one daily Boeing 787-10 operating a VTL designated flight from 29th November 2021 (highlighted in green).

29th November 2021 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ528 787-10
SIN 20:20		MAA 22:00
	SQ529 787-10 VTL
MAA 23:15		SIN 05:55*

* Next day

Update: IndiGo has announced its designated VTL flights from Chennai to Singapore. See below for the full quarantine-free schedule on this route so far (click to expand):

Delhi

Delhi – Singapore will see one daily Boeing 787-10 operating a VTL designated flight from 29th November 2021 (highlighted in green).

29th November 2021 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ406 787-10
SIN 16:25		DEL 19:55
	SQ403 787-10 VTL
DEL 21:50		SIN 06:10*

* Next day

Mumbai

Mumbai – Singapore will see one daily Airbus A350 Regional operating a VTL designated flight from 29th November 2021 (highlighted in green).

29th November 2021 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ424 A350 Regional
SIN 18:45		BOM 22:10
	SQ423 A350 Regional VTL
BOM 23:35		SIN 07:30*

* Next day

Update: Vistara has announced its designated VTL flights from Mumbai to Singapore. See below for the full quarantine-free schedule on this route so far (click to expand):

What happened to the A380?

Initially, SIA listed an Airbus A380 taking over the daily Mumbai run from 17th December 2021, which would have given travellers a Suites and 2017 Business Class option on this route in both directions, but the airline then removed this listing.

This VTL flight now shows only Airbus A350 operation, which is disappointing.

Unfortunately that means no confirmed SIA superjumbo service to and from India for now, though perhaps their original schedule was part of a future plan they didn’t intend to announce just yet!

Redemption rates

These are the one-way KrisFlyer miles redemption rates for flights between Singapore and India on SIA.

KrisFlyer Redemption Rates India to/from Singapore
	Saver (one way)	Advantage (one way)
Economy	18,500	37,000
Premium Economy	32,000	n/a
Business	39,000	65,000
First / Suites	53,000	98,000

What about VTL flights to India?

As with most VTLs (Malaysia is the exception), there are no VTL flights from Singapore to India. If you are fully vaccinated, you can already travel to India as a tourist since 15th November 2021.

You can take any available non-stop flight, or route via another VTL country if your stay in India is less than 14 days, or route via any country if your stay is more than 14 days, and still take a VTL flight back to Singapore at the end of your trip.

Singapore only considers your travel history in the last 14 consecutive days when you check in for your VTL flight. It must be solely within VTL countries and/or Category 1 countries.

All designated VTL flights

We have already updated our full list of VTL designated flights by all airlines on all VTL routes following these India additions. It’s worth bookmarking for future reference.

Once details of the remaining three daily VTL flights from India to Singapore are announced, that page will be updated accordingly.

Requirements when flying to India

Travellers flying from Singapore to India must have a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken 72 hours before departure and upload the result here before departure, as part of the self-declaration form.

Travellers younger than five years of age are exempted.

Here’s our latest rundown of the cheapest locations to get a pre-departure PCR test suitable for travel in Singapore.

On-arrival testing in India is not required if you are fully vaccinated, but you are asked to monitor your health for 14 days.

This is in addition to the ‘standard’ two VTL tests on the journey back to Singapore (pre-departure ART/PCR + on-arrival PCR).

There are no additional requirements provided you are fully vaccinated, meaning you can take any commercial flight to India and still benefit from a quarantine-free arrival there, as with most VTL countries.

🇮🇳 VTL Singapore India COVID-19 Testing  Test Cost Singapore pre-departure* S$107 – S$200 India pre-departure (ART)* ~S$12 – S$30 Singapore arrival S$125 Day 3 S$15 Day 7 S$15 Total S$274 – S$385 * Prices vary between providers and locations.

As you can see that means an approximate S$270 – S$390 per head testing cost, for a round-trip.

Depending on your nationality, you may also need a visa to travel to India. Singapore nationals can apply for an eVisa here. Only tourist visas (sticker or e-visa) issued from 6th October 2021 are valid for entry in India. 

For quarantine-free travel between India and Singapore, the standard VTL process applies, as outlined below.

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’ (see above)
• 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
• Four COVID-19 tests replace quarantine / Stay-Home Notice in Singapore

  VTL: All you need to know

Vaccination recognition

To travel to Singapore under the VTL, you must be fully vaccinated in Singapore or any VTL country with a vaccine in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use List.

From 29th November 2021, recognition includes India’s International Travel Certificate in the Digital Infrastructure for Vaccination Open Credentialing (DIVOC) standard, available on the Co-WIN platform.

Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP)

If you’re travelling from India to Singapore on a VTL flight and you are not a Singapore Citizen or Permanent resident, you’ll have to apply for a VTP.

The application window is normally limited to 7-60 days prior to departure, however due to high demand at the time of writing ICA is only accepting applications 7-13 days prior to departure.

VTP applications are not capped, so you can apply later if it’s not yet possible to do so for your proposed entry date in Singapore.

Non-VTL flights

It’s not all about the VTL when it comes to flights between Singapore and India.

With an agreement to resume regular commercial passenger flights between the two countries, airlines are also adding non-VTL services.

These work well for Singapore Citizens or pass holders who are able to SHN at home or in suitable accommodation like a hotel or serviced apartment for 7 days upon arrival at Changi, providing additional city combinations and potentially cheaper fares.

They also allow those who aren’t fully vaccinated to travel.

Singapore Airlines will operate the following non-VTL flights to and from India.

Ahmedabad

Bengaluru

Delhi

Note: This non-VTL flight is in addition the VTL flights from Delhi to Singapore, already listed above.

Hyderabad

Kochi

Kolkata

Mumbai

Note: This non-VTL flight is in addition the VTL flights from Mumbai to Singapore, already listed above.

Scoot will operate the following non-VTL flights to and from India.

Amritsar

Hyderabad

Tiruchirappalli

Prior to COVID-19, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir were operating 84 weekly India – Singapore flights, so this addition of 21 designated VTL services per week restores around a quarter of previous capacity between the two countries on a quarantine-free basis.

That’s not bad for a starting move, though we expect these flights will be very popular particularly with families reuniting in the early stages, so securing a seat for a good price or for miles may not be straightforward.

Hopefully there are further India – Singapore city pairs and flights added to the quarantine-free list soon, with six daily flights part of the VTL scheme in total (only three of which have been announced).

There will therefore undoubtedly be designated VTL flights operated by other airlines, potentially including Air India, Indigo and Vistara, providing additional options.

Meanwhile both SIA and Scoot are also offering a selection of non-VTL flights from India to Singapore, which are likely to provide lower fares, for those able to SHN at home for seven days on arrival in the Lion City.

(Cover Photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media / Malcolm Lu)