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One-way Singapore bubble to open on 8 November

written by Adam Thorn | October 27, 2021

Singapore and Qantas aircraft, as shot by Victor Pody

Australian residents will be able to travel to and from Singapore from 8 November, after the countries announced a new quarantine-free travel bubble.

In reverse, Singaporean students and business travellers are expected to be able to soon travel to Australia, though no timetable has been agreed.

It comes as Australia prepares to lift is ban on residents leaving on 1 November.

“We look forward to doing more with Australia and Australia opening up further,” Singapore Transport Minister S Iswaran said.

“But we also recognise that every country has to make its own assessment of its circumstances, both in terms of infection rates, vaccination rates etc.

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“What we would want to do is make sure these initial arrangements work well so that both sides have the confidence to do more and facilitate travel for a wider group of travellers.”

Should Singaporean citizens be allowed entry to Australia later next month, it would mark the first international arrivals since the start of the pandemic, barring New Zealanders and those obtaining exemptions.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has remained adamant that tourists and backpackers on working holiday visas are still not going to be welcomed back before the year is through.

“On international visitors, well we’ll see how Australians coming back first goes there,” he said.

It follows a flurry of announcements that will see Australia slowly begin to open to the rest of the world.

Qantas said earlier this month it will bring forward its planned restart date for international flights to 1 November, following the NSW government’s decision to allow quarantine-free travel from this date to fully-vaccinated Australians.

From 1 November, Qantas will operate up to five return flights a week from Sydney to London, via Darwin, and up to four return flights a week from Sydney to Los Angeles with its Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Flights to London will operate via Darwin until at least April 2022.

It later said it would also bring forward its planned return to flights from Australia to Singapore, Fiji, Johannesburg, Phuket and Bangkok, as well as introduce a brand new direct route between Sydney and Delhi.

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