The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced on Monday (October 11) that unvaccinated children up to the age of 12 years can now travel quarantine-free under a vaccinated travel scheme.
CAAS shared that children can travel on Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) as long as they are accompanied by a vaccinated traveller who meets all the requirements.
Children Need To Take Two COVID-19 PCR Tests Before They Can Travel Quarantine-Free
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On Saturday, the government announced an expansion of the VTL scheme to nine other countries, including the US and Britain. Many parents thereafter expressed their unhappiness that unvaccinated kids will not be able to travel under VTL.
But the next day, the authorities gave a week’s grace period for differentiated safe management measures based on vaccination.
S. Iswaran, Transport Minister said that the government decided to relax the rules looking at the desire among Singaporeans and their families members to travel. So, allowing the unvaccinated kids up to 12 to travel on the VTL, will “help to open up a little more possibilities for them,” acknowledged Iswaran.
- Kids will have to take two Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests – one within 48 hours of departure to Singapore and the other on arrival.
- Children who are two years and below are not required to take the PCR tests.
- The CAAS stated that the age of the child will be based on the calendar year. For instance, if your child is born in or after 2009, they can enter Singapore under the VTL in 2021.
The original decision to exclude unvaccinated children was a precautionary measure amid the rising COVID-19 cases, he shared in an interview with The Straits Times.
Countries that are part of the VTL scheme
Iswaran urged families to take extra precautions if they opt to travel and also at the same time be aware of the different requirements in the countries they wish to travel.
- From October 19, unvaccinated travellers will be able to fly to Denmark, France, Canada, Italy, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and the United States.
- From November 15, the VTL scheme will also be extended to South Korea. About 11 countries, including Germany and Brunei are on the VTL.
- Brunei currently doesn’t allow leisure travel and South Korea also currently does not allow kids who are not eligible to qualify for vaccination or those who are unfit to be vaccinated.
Mr Iswaran urged parents travelling with kids to exercise caution.
He said, “Keep in mind the circumstances in the countries you might be considering visiting. We need to accept that their requirements and regimes are different and it is not one size fits all.”
Impact Of VTL Expansion On Singapore Tourism
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Mr Iswaran explained that the 11 countries under the VTL scheme account for about 10% of Changi Airport‘s passenger traffic before the pandemic. He added, “It is important to reconnect with them because they are among our top 20 trading partners and have got sizeable business communities and families in the country.”
The VTL expansion will enable 3,000 travellers to arrive in Singapore daily, which is still a far cry from the pre-pandemic number.
The minister urged the VTL travellers to comply with all the rules and referred to the scheme as a “pathfinder” towards the goal of ensuring international aviation.
Iswaran added, “Only if we all work together, we can manage to increase these vaccinated travel lanes, be it is in terms of coverage or capacity.” These small steps will help to restore Singapore’s reputation as an international aviation hub, according to him.
Travellers Exercising Caution Is A Must
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Most parents have welcomed the news, but there are some who are ready to hold off on immediate travel plans. Mr Aaron Kong, a dad to a five-year-old shared that they are looking forward to travelling in New Year when airlines increase their capacity and Singapore hopefully adds more VTL destinations like Japan.
Some travel agencies have been cautiously optimistic.
Ms Alicia Seah from Dynasty Travel added that travellers with young kids who are not vaccinated “may take a more measured wait-and-see approach to see the safety protocols of the other nations they are travelling to.”
She further shared that travellers may be seen enjoying more options and shorter holidays with young kids to nearby countries such as Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.
Airlines to increase capacity
- Singapore Airlines will add VTL flights for the year-end holiday season. This will allow more North American travellers to enter Singapore quarantine-free.
- From December 2 to February 15, the national carrier will operate twice-weekly VTL flights from Seattle and Vancouver to Singapore.
- From October 20, it will also convert its daily non-stop service from San Francisco to Singapore to a VTL flight.
- On the other hand, it will continue to operate non-VTL flights from Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver for customers who are not eligible for the VTL option.
Singapore recently made these announcements as part of easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions. PM Lee Hsien Loong had said it was time to find the “strategy to live with Covid-19.”
However, with vaccinations, careful monitoring and social distancing measures, it is possible to live with the “new normal.”
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