Singapore and South Korea to jointly launch quarantine-free travel for vaccinated travelers

SINGAPORE — Quarantine-free travel between Singapore and South Korea will start from Nov. 15 for vaccinated travelers, the city-state’s transport ministry announced Friday.

The two countries agreed to launch a so-called “vaccinated travel lane,” which allows vaccinated travelers to enter Singapore from South Korea, and vice versa without serving quarantines. Instead, travelers will have to take Covid-19 tests to ensure they are not infected with the virus.

It is the “first of its kind between two major aviation hubs in Asia,” the press release said.

Transport Minister S Iswaran said the travel arrangement reopens general travel between Singapore and South Korea after some 20 months of disruption.

“This is another milestone as we re-open Singapore’s borders, and resume air travel in a careful and calibrated manner,” Iswaran said.

As part of the agreement, travelers will have to fly between Singapore’s Changi Airport and South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. More details will be announced soon, the transport ministry said.

In September, Singapore started similar arrangements with Brunei and Germany, allowing conditional travel for inoculated visitors from both countries, and establishing the country’s first vaccinated travel lanes.

Singapore is also in talks with the U.S. about a possible travel lane between the two countries, Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s minister for trade and industry, said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event in Washington DC on Thursday.

“We are now working on a VTL with the U.S. as soon as possible, and certainly before the end of the year,” he said, according to prepared remarks.