Responding to the news that Australia’s international border will reopen from November 1 to fully vaccinated citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families, Singapore Airlines has today opened up flights from Sydney to Singapore return from mid-November.
Bookings on the Singapore-Sydney and Sydney-Singapore routes have today gone live via various sales channels for eligible customers on flights tagged as “For Eligible Passengers Only” (FEPO).
Eligibility to travel on these services is determined by the Australian Government and must at least meet the following criteria:
- Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and
- Have received two doses of a TGA approved or recognised vaccine, and
- Have a vaccine certificate that meets the Australian Government’s authenticity and verification requirements.
The news follows yesterday’s update that the national airline will resume Airbus A380 operations on selected services between Singapore and London from 18 November 2021.
The resumed services will include SQ322 from Singapore to London and SQ317, the return London to Singapore leg.
Very handy for connections from Sydney through Changi Airport and onto London and a quarantine-free arrival.
Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President South-West Pacific, Mr Louis Arul, welcomed the news and looked forward to receiving further details on how returning travellers will be facilitated.
“Today’s announcement is a welcome sign that Australia is beginning its journey to reconnect with the world, as per the National Plan,” Mr Arul said.
“This paves the way for many Australians to return home, but more detail is needed on how to facilitate unvaccinated passengers within the revised international arrival caps that will come into effect from 1 November 2021.
“We look forward to receiving clarification from the Commonwealth and NSW governments on these key issues and remain committed to working closely with all levels of Government to operationalise the plans to support the safe and sustainable re-opening of Australia’s borders.”
Details with regards to the verification standards for overseas issued vaccination certificates will be provided by the Commonwealth in the coming weeks and customers are encouraged to review these standards to ensure their certificates meet the requirements.
Customers are encouraged to confirm their eligibility to travel to Australia uncapped on these flights via https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/travel-vaccinated-australians.
Singapore Airlines says they will continue to seek guidance and clarification from the relevant authorities for unvaccinated passengers holding existing bookings into Sydney from 1 November onwards and will assist with re-booking once clarity on capped flight operations is provided.
Fresh off the back of the news that international travellers will be able to freely leave New South Wales and will not have to quarantine or isolate upon arrival home from November 1, Qantas also announced it will bring forward the restart of its international flights out of Sydney by two weeks to take off on the same day.
Qantas will operate up to five return flights a week from Sydney to London and up to four return flights a week from Sydney to Los Angeles on its 787 Dreamliners from 1 November.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “Bringing forward the reopening of Australia to the world and removing quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering New South Wales is a massive step towards life as we knew it.
“In just a little over two weeks, Australians around the world can fly into Sydney and people from around Australia can leave on trips they’ve been waiting almost two years to take. We hope other states will do the same once they reach the 80 per cent target.
The national carrier says flights to other destinations including Singapore, Fiji and Vancouver are still scheduled to commence from 18 December 2021 with other destinations to restart in the new year.
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