What you need to know about the Singapore-Hong Kong ATB
SINGAPORE – The Singapore-Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble (ATB) is finally set to be relaunched with the first flight going out on 26 May, after a six-month gap from the scuppered initial planned start.
Before you book your tickets and hotel stays, here's what you – as a traveller from Singapore – need to note:
How many flights and passengers will be allowed?
There will be one flight a day in each direction, capped at 200 passengers on each flight for the first two weeks.
From 10 June, flights will be increased to two per day from each city with up to 200 passengers on each flight.
Which airlines can I book flights with?
Currently, only Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Cathay Pacific are eligible to fly ATB passengers on the Singapore-Hong Kong route via designated flights.
The inaugural SIA ATB flight from Singapore to Hong Kong, SQ882, will depart on Wednesday, 26 May. The inaugural SIA ATB flight from Hong Kong to Singapore, SQ883, will depart on Friday, 28 May.
Will I be subjected to quarantine? Are there any travel restrictions?
The ATB will allow individuals to travel between Singapore and Hong Kong without quarantining. There will also be no restrictions on the purpose of travel and no requirements for a controlled itinerary or sponsorship.
So what must I do?
All travellers must undergo COVID-19 pre-departure and on-arrival Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests in lieu of quarantine or Stay-Home Notice (SHN).
Travellers must also adhere to the prevailing border control measures and public health requirements of both cities, such as mask-wearing.
In addition, Singapore travellers must now download and install Hong Kong’s LeaveHomeSafe (LHS) app on their mobile devices prior to leaving Singapore for the city.
During the duration of their stay in Hong Kong, travellers are required to scan the LHS QR codes displayed at the relevant premises they visit. Travellers must also retain their LHS app's visitation records for 31 consecutive days after leaving Hong Kong.
Can I travel via the ATB from Singapore to Hong Kong if I have just recently arrived in Singapore from another country?
Travellers on the ATB must have remained in either Singapore or Hong Kong in the last 14 days prior to departure, and this must exclude any time spent in quarantine or Stay-Home Notice arising from their last return to either city from overseas.
Is everyone residing in Singapore eligible to travel via the ATB?
Holders of work permits or S-passes issued by Singapore's Ministry of Manpower working in the construction, marine shipyard, or process sectors, are excluded from travelling from Singapore to Hong Kong on the ATB.
Must I have taken a COVID-19 vaccine?
Those travelling from Singapore to Hong Kong do not need to be vaccinated but they will have to take pre-departure and arrival COVID-19 tests.
Hong Kong has mandated that outbound Hong Kong travellers be vaccinated – this means they have to have taken two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine 14 days prior to departure. However, the Hong Kong government will allow exceptions to this rule for residents who:
Are below 16 years old.
Are not suitable to be vaccinated on medical grounds.
Have been in Hong Kong for less than 90 days before departure.
Are using non-Hong Kong travel documents to leave the city.
What will cause the ATB to be suspended?
The ATB will be suspended for at least 14 days if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases (excluding dormitory resident cases in Singapore) is more than five in either Singapore or Hong Kong. The suspension will take effect after two days (including the day on which the limit of five cases is crossed) for a two-week period.
What are the criteria for the resumption for the ATB?
The ATB can resume on the next day when the following two criteria have been met:
The seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong and Singapore does not exceed five on the last day of the 14-day suspension period or any subsequent day.
After the first criterion is met, subsequently there are three consecutive days where the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases does not exceed three in Hong Kong and Singapore, and the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases on the last day of the three consecutive days does not exceed five in both places.
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