Singapore’s Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) with India got off to a slightly rocky start in late November 2021, when the Omicron COVID-19 variant began to surface and India imposed mandatory arrival quarantine for those landing from “at-risk” countries, which at the time included Singapore.
It meant that two-way quarantine-free travel between the countries was initially only available for a few days, but luckily by early December India removed Singapore from its list of “at-risk” countries, once again opening the borders with no isolation periods in both directions.
India tightens restrictions
Nothing seems to stay the same for long as far as international border measures are concerned at the moment, with India now updating its arrival requirements, effective from 11th January 2022.
While Singapore is still clear of India’s “at-risk” list, seven days of quarantine will now be imposed on international travellers arriving from any country, effective for those touching down from 00.01am on 11th January 2022.
India entry process
From now until 10th January 2022, those arriving from Singapore may still be subject to randomised arrival PCR testing, but provided they are either not selected or test negative, no self-isolation period is imposed.
With effect for arrivals from 11th January 2022, the entry process for those travelling from Singapore to India will be as follows:
- PCR test within 72 hours of flight departure time for those 5 years or older (find the cheapest here)
- Complete Self-Declaration Form (SDF)
- Random 2% of travellers (aged 5+) will undergo a PCR test on arrival
- Self-isolation for 7 days (at home / hotel room), whether you are randomly selected for on-arrival testing and return a negative result, or you are not selected.
- PCR test on Day 8 (upload results to the Air Suvidha portal)
- If negative, free from self-isolation (monitor health for 7 further days)
All testing costs are borne by the passenger, except for the random arrival testing, which is free of charge.
These new rules are obviously a significant deterrent for those travelling as tourists, who are unlikely to be willing to quarantine for a week at the start of their trip.
Furthermore, delays in the processing of PCR tests in India’s major cities currently mean waiting 24-48 hours for a result, which could therefore add another day or two to your self-isolation period.
SIA A380 flights deferred
In a case of pretty awful timing, Singapore Airlines was due to reinstate its Airbus A380s on flights to and from Mumbai from 10th January 2022, just one day ahead of these new quarantine restrictions taking effect!
Delhi was also due to follow suit on 14th February 2022, for twice daily total A380 operation to and from India.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the airline has deferred planned introduction of the superjumbos on its Mumbai route to 7th February 2022, a four week delay, though the plan for Delhi to switch across to the A380 remains intact for 14th February 2022 at the time of writing.
If a quarantine requirement for those arriving in India remains in force next month, it’s reasonable to expect there may be further slippage of these A380 start dates.
In the meantime Airbus A350 Regionals (Mumbai) and Boeing 787-10s (Delhi) continue to serve these two cities.
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 |
All VTL flights India – Singapore
Designated VTL flights from India to Singapore are being operated by Air India, IndiGo, Singapore Airlines and Vistara.
Here’s a list of the VTL flights from India, which you’ll need to use on your return journey to benefit from quarantine-free arrival in Singapore, assuming you are also returning from India (click to expand):
Chennai Singapore
27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
6E53 A320 |
||||||||
| MAA 22:20 |
SIN 05:10* |
||||||||
 |
SQ529 787-10 |
||||||||
| MAA 23:15 |
SIN 06:10* |
||||||||
* Next day
Important
From 1st April 2022, there will be no more designated VTL flights to Singapore.All fully vaccinated travellers can enter quarantine-free on any flight operated by any airline on any route.
Delhi Singapore
27th March 2022 - 31st March 2022
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
UK115 A320 |
||||||||
| DEL 01:45 |
SIN 10:00 |
||||||||
|
SQ403 777-300ER |
||||||||
| DEL 21:55 |
SIN 06:10* |
||||||||
 |
AI380 787-8 |
||||||||
| DEL 23:00 |
SIN 07:25* |
||||||||
* Next day
Important
From 1st April 2022, there will be no more designated VTL flights to Singapore.All fully vaccinated travellers can enter quarantine-free on any flight operated by any airline on any route.