Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble expected to start in July

The Covid-19 situation in Singapore has been stabilised “with the number of community cases and local unlinked Covid-19 cases showing a downward trend”, said a statement of Singapore’s government.

According to a spokesman of Hong Kong’s government, the two governments remain “committed to launching the ATB with a view to resuming air travel between the two regional aviation hubs and international cities in a gradual and orderly manner under a set of stringent public health protocols”.

Mayumi Soh of Pinsent Masons MPillay, the Singapore joint law venture between MPillay and Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said: “As the Covid-19 pandemic situation is very fluid, it remains to be seen if parties will give the go-ahead for the travel bubble in July. If this travel bubble is successful, it will likely pave the way for further collaborations and travel bubbles between Singapore and other destinations.” 

The two originally reached an ATB agreement last November and designated flights were planned to start in the same month. The launch of the ATB was delayed in view of the epidemic situation in Hong Kong.

The two reached a revised ATB agreement in April and planned to take off in May, which was also postponed due to a sudden rise of Covid-19 cases in Singapore.

Currently, Singapore is considering open ATB with South Korea and Australia respectively. It has taken a series of travel measures during the Covid-19 pandemic including fast lane, reciprocal green lane (RGL), air travel pass and air travel bubbles.