Queensland drops quarantine for international arrivals from 22 January

Another popular Australian state when it comes to tourism is reopening its international borders this week, with news that Queensland will remove quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers arriving in the state from overseas starting on Saturday 22nd January 2022.

This will allow Australians and New Zealand passport holders usually resident in Australia to fly into the state from any overseas country, while the following citizens are also eligible, when travelling directly from their home countries:

• Singapore
• Japan
• South Korea

These are the prevailing requirements of the Australian Federal Government for entry to the country, which are not a state decision.

No arrivals cap will be applied for fully vaccinated travellers entering Queensland from overseas, so passengers will be able to take any available flight into Brisbane, or cities such as Cairns and Gold Coast once international services to those airports resume.

This quarantine relaxation comes about as Queensland hits nearly 90% of its eligible population reaching fully vaccinated status, and will take effect for arrivals from 1.00am on Saturday 22nd January 2022.

Requirements when flying to Queensland

Fully vaccinated eligible travellers (including Singapore Citizens) flying from overseas to Queensland who touch down from 22nd January 2022 onwards must:

• Have a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of their flight departure time, unless they are under five years of age.
• Take an on-arrival RAT (ART) test within 24 hours of arriving in Queensland.
• Self-isolate at home or in other suitable accommodation until receiving a negative test result.

Aside from the short self-isolation period (RAT tests only take 15-30 minutes), no quarantine applies.

Taking the post-arrival test in Queensland is based on a ‘honour system’, and will not be policed. Those who test positive, however, should follow these steps.

“We made a decision yesterday as part of our COVID taskforce meeting and we have decided to set a firm date for [fully vaccinated international travellers] coming into Queensland… as 1am this Saturday.”

Annastacia Palaszczuk, Queensland Premier

International arrivals who are already in quarantine in Queensland will be free to leave from 1am on Saturday.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travellers will still need to quarantine for 14 days on arrival in Queensland.

Here’s our latest rundown of the cheapest locations to get a pre-departure PCR test suitable for travel in Singapore, starting at S$98.

There are even competitive options for those preferring to be tested at home, now starting at S$128.

For those phobic of the nasal swab process, there are also saliva-based PCR tests available from S$115, valid for travel to Australia.

VTL process Queensland – Singapore

Those flying on designated VTL flights from Brisbane to Singapore will follow the standard VTL pre-departure and arrival process.

VTL Process
Australia Singapore

• Must be fully vaccinated in Singapore or any VTL country
• Must have stayed in Australia, Singapore or any VTL country for 14 days
• Apply for a VTP in advance*
• Purchase COVID-19 travel insurance (min. coverage of S$30,000)**
• Take a pre-departure COVID-19 PCR or RAT/ART test (up to 2 days before departure)
• Travel to Singapore on designated ‘VTL flights’
• Take an on-arrival COVID-19 PCR test
• Self-isolate until the result is available (typically 4-6 hours)
• Take Day 2, 4, 5 & 6 self-swab post-arrival ART tests
• Take Day 3 and Day 7 supervised ART tests at QTCs/CTCs

* Not applicable for Singapore Citizens or permanent residents
** Not applicable for Singapore Citizens, permanent residents or pass holders

Brisbane VTL flights already started

Singapore Airlines already launched its Brisbane – Singapore quarantine-free VTL flights last week, with the first service operating to Changi on 15th January 2022, despite two-way travel still not being available at the time.

Of course Queensland’s Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had already announced on 13th January that quarantine was to be relaxed for international arrivals sometime this week, so there was no harm in SIA starting VTL services in the Singapore direction a week early.

Here’s how the VTL flight schedule looks, with a generous 14 weekly flights, increasing to 17 per week in February and March and then 21 per week (three daily) during the northern summer season (April to October).

Brisbane – Singapore
VTL Flights

15th January 2022 – 1st February 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ236 A350 Regional
BNE 14:45		SIN 20:35
	SQ246 A350 Regional
BNE 23:00		SIN 04:40*

* Next day

2nd February 2022 – 26th March 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ256 A350 Regional
BNE 10:20		SIN 16:20
	SQ236 A350 Regional
BNE 14:45		SIN 20:35
	SQ246 A350 Regional
BNE 23:00		SIN 04:40*

* Next day

27th March 2022 – 29th October 2022

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	SQ256 A350 Regional
BNE 09:20		SIN 15:30
	SQ236 A350 Regional
BNE 14:45		SIN 20:45
	SQ246 A350 LH
BNE 23:50		SIN 05:45*

* Next day

Singapore to Brisbane flights

Singapore Airlines has already loaded availability on its Brisbane route from 22nd January 2022 following the relaxation of arrival caps and quarantine restrictions, with both daily flights marked as “For Eligible Passengers Only” (FEPO) flights, allowing Australian Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents and Singapore Citizens to travel.

Other airlines

Qantas has not yet announced whether it will bring forward its Brisbane – Singapore flights in light of this border relaxation.

All Qantas flights from Australia to Singapore are currently designated VTL services, with the Brisbane route joining the roster from 27th March 2022 at this stage.

Similarly Singapore Airlines has not yet announced a return to its Cairns route (formerly operated by SilkAir), nor has Scoot flagged a restart of its Gold Coast – Singapore services, though we might expect to see both of these back soon.

How much will it cost?

Estimated testing costs for a Singapore – Queensland – Singapore trip are outlined below.

🇦🇺 VTL Singapore QLD COVID-19 Testing  Test Cost SG pre-departure (PCR)* From S$98 QLD on-arrival (ART) ~S$7 QLD pre-departure (ART)* ~S$60 SG arrival (PCR) S$125 SG Day 2 (self ART) ~S$7 SG Day 3 (supervised ART) S$15 SG Day 4 (self ART) ~S$7 SG Day 5 (self ART) ~S$7 SG Day 6 (self ART) ~S$7 SG Day 7 (supervised ART) S$15 Total From S$348 * Prices vary between providers and locations.

Singapore travellers are looking at around S$350 minimum testing cost for this VTL, assuming no changes to the testing regime.

Redemption rates

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

KrisFlyer Redemption Rates Brisbane to/from Singapore
	Saver (one way)	Advantage (one way)
Economy	28,000	55,000
Business	62,000	90,000

These rates also apply to the Cairns route, once it restarts, hopefully using the airline’s new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft with lie-flat Business Class seats.

Queensland is the last Australian state to announce a quarantine-free reopening of its border to international travellers, though Western Australia (having announced earlier) will actually be the final one to do so on 5th February 2022.

This new option is great news for Australian and Singapore citizens with friends and family in Queensland, or eager to take a trip to the popular state, which boasts fantastic beaches and of course the Great Barrier Reef.

For the time being, only those with an eligible citizenship travelling from their home countries (or Australian / NZ passport holders travelling from any country) are eligible, or can apply for a visitor visa, though we hope this restriction will soon be relaxed and all vaccinated travellers will be able to head to Australia for a trip.

Award space is already loaded on many Singapore Airlines Brisbane VTL flights, so now may be a good time to lock in a booking to and from this popular state.

(Cover Photo: City of Gold Coast)