HK-Singapore travel bubble flight takes off

The first designated flight under the Hong Kong-Singapore air travel arrangement will take off starting November 22, said Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah.

Travelers under the travel bubble arrangement must have tested negative on Covid in mutually recognized tests taken within 72 hours before their departure and have no travel history to any places other than Singapore or Hong Kong in the last 14 days prior to their departure.

Yau said travelers can get tested at the four community testing centers for a fee of HK$240 or the 18 testing institutions recognized by authorities. Travelers arriving in Hong Kong will be charged HK$499 for the test at the airport.

“If travelers are staying in Singapore for an extended period of time, they will have to be tested in Singapore one more time, with a testing fee up to HK$1000,” stressed Yau.

The number of designated flights arriving at Hong Kong will increase progressively, from one flight per day in the first 15 days to two flights per day thereafter depending on the actual implementation, carrying a maximum of 200 travelers each flight.

The travelers must undertake Covid tests via a designated lane at the airport upon arrival at Hong Kong, and then wait at a restricted area of the airport until the receipt of negative test results so that they may leave the airport and start their itineraries.

“The waiting time for travelers to get their test results at the Hong Kong airport is around four hours,” Director of Health Constance Chan Hon-yee revealed.

A scalable mechanism is also in place for the travel bubble arrangement.

“In short, if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local Covid cases is more than five for either Singapore or Hong Kong, the arrangement will be suspended for two weeks,” Yau added.