Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble: Air tickets sold out till early June

SINGAPORE - Flights from Singapore to Hong Kong were sold out after the relaunch of an air travel bubble slated to start May 26 was announced.

This travel arrangement will finally allow long-delayed quarantine-free travel to take off between both cities.

Tickets for one-way direct flights from Singapore to Hong Kong by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Cathay Pacific Airways from May 26 to June 4 were sold out as of 12pm on Tuesday (April 27).

Next available tickets for the same route on SIA on June 7 were priced from $586, while the next available tickets for Cathay Pacific Airways on June 5 were listed from $636.

Demand was also strong for flights from Hong Kong to Singapore.

Tickets for one-way direct flights from Hong Kong to Singapore by SIA from May 26 to June 3 were also sold out, with the next available ticket on June 4 priced from around $995.

Cathay Pacific tickets for the same route were available on June 1, from around $706.

An SIA spokesman said the airline has seen a strong demand for their air travel bubble flights but declined to reveal figures due to commercial sensitivity.

The travel bubble between both countries was originally planned to start on Nov 22 last year, but was deferred by both parties after a spike in Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong.

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Its resumption was announced on Monday (April 26) by Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT), which said there will be one flight a day in each direction, capped at 200 passengers on each flight for the first two weeks.

This will be increased to two flights a week from June 10.

To qualify, travellers must have remained in either Singapore or Hong Kong in the 14 days prior to departure, and the 14-day period must exclude any time spent in quarantine or under stay-home notice arising from their last return to Singapore or Hong Kong from overseas.

All travellers must also have Hong Kong's LeaveHomeSafe app installed on their mobile devices prior to leaving Singapore for Hong Kong.

Hong Kong media reported on Monday that enquiries from travellers have spiked after the announcement of the relaunched travel bubble but there have not been many bookings yet.

Chief executive of travel agency WWPKG, Yuen Chun-ning, said a five-day tour to Singapore would cost over HK$10,000 (S$1,710) in the first few days, but will drop when more flights become available after June.

He added that the travel bubble might not boost the tourism industry of the special administrative region significantly as it might not draw a big market.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.