Report: Singapore keen to have air travel bubble with Malaysia

SINGAPORE:Singapore, which has recently reached an in-principle agreement to establish a bilateral Air Travel Bubble with Hong Kong, is keen to have a similar arrangement with Malaysia when the time is right, according to the republic’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung.

"I would really like to have an air bubble with Malaysia," he said in an exclusive interview with The Straits Times’ news editor Karamjit Kaur on Thursday.

"But as of now, the case numbers in Malaysia are quite high, so I think we will have to wait and see... We do know and our healthcare officials' assessment is that Malaysia takes virus control very seriously. So I certainly hope they will succeed in suppressing this current round of spikes.

"When the time is right, I'm sure I will propose (an air travel bubble) to them," Ong was quoted as saying.

The minister was responding to a question on whether there are plans for more travel between Singapore and Malaysia, one of the busiest air routes in the region.

The two countries have implemented two travel arrangements so far, namely The Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and The Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA).

-- BERNAMA