(TAN): Singapore “can’t wait around for a vaccine” before allowing more visitors to enter through international flights, the country’s transport minister Ong Ye Kung said, CNBC reported.
Although the country is setting up “reciprocal green lanes” (RGL) with several countries for business travel, it is essential to resume general travel for the health of the aviation industry, said Minister Kung.
Singapore and Indonesia have agreed to resume business travel by setting up a new RGL, CNA reported. Applications for the RGL will open on October 26 and travel will start soon after, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement.
[ALSO READ: German National Tourist Board wins award for tourism campaign]
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the global aviation industry hard, as many countries shut their borders and restricted travel to slow the virus spread. Singapore has not been spared either, and is pulling out all the stops to revive its crucial airline industry.
Kung told CNBC that Singapore is a small country and has no domestic air travel market. “We can’t wait around for a vaccine, we got to start doing something, active steps,” he said.
Singapore has set up RGLs with China, South Korea and Malaysia among others.
[ALSO READ: GoUSA TV brings all travel entertainment with no subscription]
While those “reciprocal green lane” arrangements for corporate travellers keep “essential business dealings going”, they’re still “quite restrictive” and may not help to revive Singapore’s aviation sector, Kung said.
He added that Singapore is working to establish so-called “travel bubbles” with countries that have kept their Covid-19 outbreak under control. “We can open up safely because there are countries, regions that have kept the epidemic under control… and testings are no longer a constraint.”
