At a press conference last week with NSW Premier Dominic Perrotite and Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the federal government was in the midst of a crisis. The “final stages” of finalizing a travel bubble deal with the Singapore government.
Quarantine-free travel between Australia and Singapore is planned for November, according to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who said the two countries could sign an agreement as early as next week.
Morrison said Australia’s travel arrangements with Singapore would be similar to those established with New Zealand’s South Island earlier last week.
The Australia-Singapore agreement allows fully vaccinated residents of both countries to visit each other without going into quarantine. Meanwhile, Morrison said the initial focus would be on students and business travellers, with tourists expected to follow in December.
Sydney and Melbourne will lift their quarantine procedures on November 1.
Singapore has established “vaccination corridors” with several other countries, including South Korea, Germany, Canada, Denmark, France and Italy.
“As you know, I met Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee in Singapore a few months ago to work out a new arrangement to open our borders to Singapore more quickly,” the Australian prime minister commented.
However, the viability of the bubble depends on other states and territories following NSW’s lead and lifting quarantine rules for international travellers. Victoria plans to do so from next month.
Morrison said the travel bubble arrangement would be in line with the itinerary Qantas has set for its flights to and from Singapore.
Not coincidentally, Singapore Airlines has also announced that its Airbus A380 will resume daily flights to Sydney from 1 December, supplementing its daily Boeing 777-300ER flights, in what Regional Vice President Louis Arul called a “recovery Another exciting step on the road.”
