Jetstar Asia is ramping up its post-pandemic services, resuming flights from four Southeast Asian cities to its Singapore base. Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights from Penang, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Denpasar are progressively resuming from March 27, allowing eligible passengers quarantine-free entry into the Lion City.

As Jetstar Asia notes, with Vietnam, Malaysia, and Bali now allowing quarantine-free entry for fully vaccinated inbound arrivals, travelers can now enjoy two-way quarantine-free travel from Singapore to these destinations. Southeast Asia country-hopping is back on!

More Jetstar Asia VTL routes from March 27

VTL flights to Singapore (SIN) from Denpasar (DPS) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) are resuming on March 27. VTL flights from Penang (PEN) are rebooting two days later, on March 27. Skip into April, and VTL flights from Da Nang (DAD) recommence on April 10. This brings the number of Jetstar Asia VTL routes into Singapore to 13.

Denpasar - Singapore flights will initially operate three times a week. Ho Chin Minh - Singapore flights will begin with flights five times a week. Penang - Singapore flights will see flights three times a week to start with, and Da Nang - Singapore flights will re-commence with twice-weekly flights.

“With the gradual and safe easing of quarantine requirements, combined with replacing PCR tests with the less-costly ART, we are slowly removing the barriers to international travel, which in turn is helping restore consumer confidence,” says Jetstar Asia’s CEO, Bara Pasupathi.

“We’re confident the safe relaxation of border measures, combined with our low fares, will ensure international travel will once again be back on our customers’ radars.”

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Photo: Jetstar Asia

Jetstar Asia helps get intra-Asia flying out of the doldrums

And that can't come a moment too soon for intra-Asia regional airlines like Jetstar Asia. Being based in Singapore, all Jetstar Asia's flights are international flights - even if it's just a short-haul hop up into Malaysia. Regional airline trade group, the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA), recently released intra-Asia international traffic numbers for January and they tell a grim story.

The region’s airlines carried a combined 2.7 million international passengers in January, representing 8.1% of the 35.2 million recorded during the same month in 2019. Measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), international passenger demand averaged only 8.9% of 2019 levels, while available seat capacity was 17.9% of 2019 volumes.

“Travel restrictions, along with uncertainties resulting from the rise in omicron infections, dampened the anticipated recovery in international travel at the start of the new year," said AAPA Director-General Subhas Menon when releasing those numbers at the end of February.

"Nevertheless, in the light of increased vaccination rates and the relatively reduced risk of severe illness from the transmission of the omicron variant, an increasing number of Asian governments have since adapted to living with COVID-19, including reversing or reducing international travel restrictions. As we move into 2022, recovery in international air travel should gain momentum.”

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Photo: Jetstar

Singapore is now open to fully vaccinated travelers from two dozen countries

Jetstar Asia's resuming flights are evidence of that, as are various Southeast Asian countries reopening to fully vaccinated travelers. Singapore was an early reopener (from a Southeast Asian perspective) when it began introducing VTL flights will selected countries last year. Subject to meeting Singapore's normal entry requirements and having evidence of your vaccination status, travelers on VTL flights from two dozen countries can now arrive in Singapore just like its 2019 and head straight out for dinner.

Well, almost like it's 2019. While getting into Singapore is now straightforward enough for fully vaccinated travelers coming on a VTL flight, passengers transiting through Singapore or departing from Singapore need to be alive to entry requirements in their destination country - plenty of countries across Asia still have restrictions on arrivals.

Further, in another quirk, Jetstar Asia advises transfer and transit passengers are not allowed to travel on designated VTL services between Singapore and Malaysia (Penang and Kuala Lumpur).