Singapore Airlines crew members and passengers in the transit hall of Changi Airport in Singapore on January 14, 2021.
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SINGAPORE – Shares of Singapore Airlines jumped on Monday after the city-state confirmed it was in talks with Australia to set up an air travel bubble.
Shares of Singapore Airlines rose 5.28% in trading in the early afternoon, after rising to 8.49% earlier in the day. Shares related to airlines, such as SATS, a subsidiary company that provides in-flight catering, rose 3.43%, while SIA Engineering advanced 5.12%.
Australian flag carrier Qantas gained 3.4%.
An air travel bubble would allow residents of Singapore and Australia to travel between the two countries without the need for quarantine. International travel routes have remained relatively limited since world borders were closed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both Singapore and Australia appear to have brought the infection to relative control, while vaccination programs are also being developed.
“Singapore is currently discussing with Australia the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and the resumption of priority travel for students and business travelers,” the Singapore Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
“We are also discussing the possibility of an air travel bubble that would allow residents of Singapore and Australia to travel between the two countries without the need for quarantine,” the ministry said.
Australian citizens can travel through Singapore without quarantine to return home if they travel on approved traffic routes and comply with the state’s public health protocols, according to the statement.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack told local media on Monday that Canberra is potentially looking for the travel bubble with Singapore in July. But according to a transcript of his remarks, he added that while the talks are productive, the discussions are in early stages.
Global tourism is a beating
Singapore’s tourism sector experienced a sharp decline in the first nine months of 2020, according to data from the tourism authority. International visitor arrivals fell 81.2% to just 2.7 million a year ago, and tourist revenue fell 78.4% to Singapore’s $ 4.4 billion ($ 3.272 billion) ).
The city-state has previously tried to establish an air travel bubble with Hong Kong since last year. But it was postponed after Hong Kong reported a resurgence in the new Covid-19 cases.
Last week, Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung told CNBC that the country is not giving up on trying to establish the travel bubble agreement with Hong Kong.
Singapore has allowed visitors to certain places, including Australia, New Zealand, mainland China and Taiwan, to bypass quarantine if they meet certain requirements, such as a negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in to arrive.