Malaysia and Singapore suspends sale of VTL flight and bus tickets amid Omicron concerns

Sales of flight and bus tickets between Malaysia and Singapore under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) will be suspended temporarily for about a month due to concerns about the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Ticket sales will be suspended starting tomorrow, 23rd December 2021 until 20th January 2022.

For travellers who have previously purchased their tickets, they are able to continue with their journey provided they fulfil the VTL requirements. Ticket sales will resume from 21st January 2022 after a risk assessment is conducted based on the COVID-19 situation for both countries. Travellers are reminded to ensure compliance with the SOPs and to conduct regular COVID-19 testing.

The decision was made after the Ministry of Health of Singapore has identified a local COVID-19 cluster involving three positive cases. Test results have found two of them having the possibility of an Omicron variant while other cases are still pending. The three cases do not have an international travel history.

According to Straits Times, Singapore has confirmed 71 cases of Omicron as of Monday which includes 65 imported cases and 6 local cases. As of last Saturday, Malaysia has identified a total of 13 Omicron-related cases and most of them are Malaysians returning from overseas.

Under the VTL, quarantine-free travel is permitted between KLIA and Changi by air and Johor Bahru and Singapore by land which started on 29th November 2021. Travellers must be fully vaccinated and undergo a COVID-19 test before the trip. Both governments have also imposed a quota on the number of daily bus trips and flights under the VTL programme.

[ SOURCE 2 ]

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