Skift Take

It has never been truer that the journey is the destination. The global travel industry is recovering lost ground inch by inch. Transit flights are a fulcrum, so Singapore's move is to be applauded.

Singapore, a regional travel and tourism hub, will gradually allow travellers to transit through its Changi Airport from June 2, the city-state’s aviation regulator said on Wednesday.

Currently, foreign passengers may only transit through Singapore if they are on repatriation flights arranged by their governments. In March, visitors were banned from entering or transiting through the city-state to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is part of Singapore’s strategy to gradually re-open air transport to meet the needs of our economy and our people, whilst ensuring sufficient safeguards for safe travel,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said.

It said airlines should submit their proposals for transfer lanes, which will be evaluated taking into account aviation safety, public health considerations, as well as the health of passengers and air crew.

Changi Airport, among the world’s busiest last year, recorded 25,200 passenger movements in April, crashing 99.5% from the year ago.

Singapore is set to start easing its coronavirus curbs from June 2.

(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Copyright (2020) Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions

This article was from Reuters and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

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Tags: airline innovation, airlines, airports, changi airport, coronavirus, coronavirus recovery, singapore, singapore air, singapore airlines, Singapore Tourism Board

Photo credit: A view of an empty Changi Airport Terminal 2 a day before its 18-month closure due to the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Singapore April 30, 2020. Edgar Su / Reuters

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