Singapore will further expand its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme in December by adding Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey.
Thailand will join the scheme from 14 December 2021, with the rest of the countries joining from 16 December 2021. This brings to 27 the total number of VTL countries, which accounted for ~60% of the total daily arrivals at Changi prior to COVID-19.
| 🌎 VTL Agreements | |
| Current VTL |
|
| From 29 Nov 2021 |
|
| From 6 Dec 2021 |
|
| From 14 Dec 2021 |
|
| From 16 Dec 2021 |
|
Fully vaccinated travellers from the above countries may enter Singapore without quarantine, provided they satisfy the following conditions:
| ✔️ VTL Eligibility Criteria | |
| All |
|
| Long-term pass & short-term visitors |
|
| Short-term visitors |
|
| #For example, if your flight is at 2000 hrs on 20 December 2021, you can take the test anytime from 0000 hrs on 18 December 2021 *Children aged 2 or under in the current calendar year are exempt ^Exception for children aged 12 and below, if they are accompanied by vaccinated traveller |
|
Of the newly-added countries, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and Fiji (from 1 December 2021) do not impose restrictions on travellers from Singapore.
If you’re living in one of the newly-added VTL countries, do note that VTP applications will open from:
- 7 December 2021, 1000 hours (GMT+8) for Thailand
- 9 December 2021, 1000 hours (GMT+8) for Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Turkey
Designated VTL flights
In order to enter Singapore without quarantine, travellers must take a designated VTL flight. The full list of VTL flights can be found here; for ease of reference I’ve compiled the list of Singapore Airlines and Scoot options below.
From Cambodia
Singapore Airlines
| Phnom Penh – Singapore | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 December 2021 – 26 March 2022 | |||
| SQ153 | Daily | 9:35am – 12:40pm | Boeing 737-8 |
| Siem Reap – Singapore | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 December 2021 – 25 March 2022 | |||
| SQ163 | Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday | 10:40am – 2:15pm | Boeing 737-8 |
From Maldives
Singapore Airlines
| Male – Singapore | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 December 2021 – 24 March 2022 | |||
| SQ437 | Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday | 11:25pm – 7:15am (+1) | Boeing 737-800 |
From Sri Lanka
Singapore Airlines
| Colombo – Singapore | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 December 2021 – 27 March 2022 | |||
| SQ469 | Daily | 12:45am – 7:15am | Airbus A350-900 |
From Thailand
Singapore Airlines
| Bangkok – Singapore | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 December 2021 – 30 January 2022 | |||
| SQ705 | Monday, Wednesday, Saturday | 9:50am – 1:15pm | Airbus A350-900 |
| SQ707 | Daily | 12:15pm – 3:45pm | Airbus A350-900 |
| 31 January 2022 – 26 March 2022 | |||
| SQ705 | Daily | 9:50am – 1:15pm | Airbus A350-900 |
| SQ707 | Daily | 12:15pm – 3:45pm | Airbus A350-900 |
[Note: Per an update from Singapore Airlines, VTL services from Phuket will not be operated at the moment]
| Phuket – Singapore | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 December 2021 – 31 January 2022 | |||
| SQ727 | Daily | 11:40am – 2:45pm | Airbus A350-900 |
| 1 February 2022 – 26 March 2022 | |||
| SQ727 | Daily | 11:35am – 2:45pm | Boeing 737-8 |
Scoot
| Bangkok – Singapore | |||
| 14 December 2021 – 26 March 2022 | |||
| TR607 | Daily | 11:55a.m -3.35p.m | Boeing 787-8 |
| Bangkok – Singapore | |||
| 15 December 2021 – 25 March 2022 | |||
| TR611 | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun | 6.10 p.m- 9.50 p.m | Airbus A320 |
[Note: Per an update from Singapore Airlines, VTL services from Chiang Mai will not be operated at the moment]
| Chiang Mai – Singapore | |||
| 16 December 2021 – 24 March 2022 | |||
| TR677 | Tue, Sat | 12.25 p.m – 4.30 p.m | Airbus A320 |
| Chiang Mai – Singapore | |||
| 16 December 2021 – 24 March 2022 | |||
| TR675 | Mon, Thurs | 2.55p.m – 7.00 p.m | Airbus A320 |
| Phuket – Singapore | |||
| 14 December 2021 – 26 March 2022 | |||
| TR653 | Tue, Fri, Sat | 8.45pm- 11.35 p.m | Airbus A320 |
From Turkey
Singapore Airlines
| Istanbul – Singapore | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 December 2021 – 26 March 2022 | |||
| SQ391 | Monday, Thursday, Saturday | 2:25pm – 5:45am (+1) | Airbus A350-900 |
Travel requirements to Thailand
Among all the additional VTL countries, I imagine it’s Thailand that will be the most exciting for Singaporeans.
Fully-vaccinated Singaporeans can already enter Thailand without quarantine, as I wrote about last month. They will need to meet the following conditions:
- Have a 21-day travel history only featuring Singapore and/or other eligible countries
- Be fully vaccinated with a recognised vaccine
- Purchase medical insurance with min. coverage of US$50K
- Present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of flight to Thailand
- Make a reservation for 1 night in an SHA+ or AQ hotel
- Undergo a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival in Thailand and self-isolate at SHA+ or AQ hotel until result is released
The list of eligible countries mentioned in (1) can be found here, and contains other VTL countries like Canada, Germany, South Korea and the USA.
It appears that Thailand will soon be easing these requirements, however. According to this source, from 16 December, travellers arriving under the Test & Go scheme (i.e. Singaporeans) will only need to do a rapid test on arrival, with no SHA+ or AQ booking required. This will further reduce the cost of travelling to Thailand.
Book those Turkish Airlines Business Class fares
Turkish Airlines is currently offering some excellent Business Class fares between Singapore and Europe, with destinations like Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, Zurich and Milan all available for less than S$2,500 round-trip. You can browse these on Google Flights using the “explore” feature.
The catch was that travellers would need to serve a 7-day SHN at home upon return to Singapore, but with Turkey’s addition to the VTL, this is no longer an issue (provided their flight to Singapore is designated a VTL service, which seems likely).
That’s a great reason to take a closer look at these deals (and perhaps book them with OCBC Travel$ and VOYAGE Miles!).
Tightened restrictions for 6 European countries
Singapore will downgrade Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein and Slovakia from Category II to Category III from 2 December 2021 onwards, due to the worsening COVID-19 situation.
Travellers from Category III countries will need to serve a 10-day SHN at their place of accommodation.
| 🛂Singapore Border Restrictions by Category |
|||||
| Cat. I | Cat. II | Cat. III | Cat. IV | VTL | |
| Short-term visitors | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ |
| PDT | ✖ | ✔ 2D (ART) |
✔ 2D (ART) |
✔ 2D (PCR) |
✔ 2D (ART) |
| On-arrival PCR test | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ |
| SHN | ✖ | ✔ 7D (home) |
✔ 10D (home) |
✔ 10D (hotel) |
✖ |
| Post-SHN PCR test | N/A | ✔ D7 |
✔ D10 |
✔ D10 |
N/A |
Conclusion
The latest batch of VTL countries offers some prime candidates for year-end travel, and I expect Bangkok tickets to sell like hotcakes. It’s also great to see two-way quarantine-free travel restored to the Maldives, which always struck me as the perfect candidate (since you’re basically on an island and isolated from the local populace).
Which country are you most looking forward to visiting?
I miss Bangkok!
siambus here i come!
Lucky I have already booked my BKK ticket when Thailand was reduced from Cat 4 to 3 last month! $400 for return economy from 12/23 – 30 with a late evening returning flight. I assume all flights will be VTL flight liao. Cool!
I was betting on VTL will extend to Thailand by then.
I wonder when TK will announce their VTL schedule. Am booked on their J fares back from the UK in early Jan. Hopefully all TK flights to SG will be VTL, but at current schedule of 6 flights a week, it may seem unlikely that all will be VTL. Fingers crossed!
Japan is at the top of my wishlist. Regional countries like Thailand are also high up but the cost to travel must be reduced significantly for these countries. I wouldn’t want to pay an extra $300-400 for tests that cost more than the flight and for a 4-5 day visit. It’s good to see Thailand moving in that direction.
we all hope so. but it seems Japan is not opening up to anyone yet. besides, once Japan is under VTL (even like Indonesia, unilaterally one way), SQ’s north america revenue will gg liao
Exactly- when the cost of testing is disproportionate to the cost of travel its a major deterrent. Glad that Thailand has realised this
Is Phuket included in VTL lists? There seems to be no flights btwn SG and Phuket
SQ flies to Phuket a few times daily.
Phuket will be included. The new 737-8 is flying there
Phuket is on the vtl list
phuket is NOT on the VTL list – hwere did you see that?
I already have J redemption tix for Feb 2022..just wondering if the return flight is non-VTL(after VTL schedule is out)..how easy would it be to change to be on the VTL flight.
Due to pandemic, I still have an open ticket on TG : SIN-BKK-ICH-BKK-SIN
Will the vtl be applicable on this flight?
Not sure if you can fly BKK-ICH right now. But assuming you can, as long as the BKK-SIN leg is on a VTL flight you’re eligible.
Hi Aaron,
Any idea If there’s VTL to Koh Samui?
There are no direct flights with Koh Samui
Bangkok Airways flies to Koh Samui three times weekly. Unclear if they will become VTL but hopefully.
have to wait for news from bangkok airways. fingers crossed!
Scoot has vtl from bkk to sin
Hi Aaron, are you doing a VTL Thailand report?
no plans at the moment, it’s happening too close to christmas.
Flights from Chiang Mai and Phuket no longer have VTL