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Garuda starts vaccinated travel lane to Singapore
The national flag carrier now offers flights to Singapore that allow fully vaccinated travelers to visit the city-state without having to undergo quarantine upon arrival.
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People walk along the link bridge to a terminal at Changi International Airport in Singapore on Nov. 18. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
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aruda Indonesia has begun a vaccinated travel lane (VTL) service to Singapore amid the emergence of Omicron, a newly discovered coronavirus variant of concern.
Starting on Monday, the national flag carrier will serve six VTL flights per week between Jakarta and Singapore using Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
Under the initiative, fully vaccinated travelers can visit Singapore without having to undergo quarantine upon arrival in the neighboring country.
Garuda Indonesia president director Irfan Saputra said the initiative was in line with efforts to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination in various countries. It also encouraged the publicly listed flag carrier to implement health protocols across all of its operations.
“The [implementation] of this vaccinated travel lane is a positive signal for the global aviation industry to keep accelerating efforts to revive its performance,” Irfan was quoted in a press release as saying on Monday.
“As many countries open [up] to foreign tourists, partly through vaccinated travel lanes, we believe this momentum will not only have a positive impact on the recovery of the airline’s performance but also a multiplier effect on economic recovery, especially tourism.”
The travel initiative came at a time when several countries, including Indonesia, have barred entry from Southern African countries following the emergence of Omicron. The new variant has prompted the World Health Organization to advise governments to put in place mitigation plans.
