Cathay Pacific has unveiled its flight schedule to Singapore as part of the travel bubble just a day after the announcement.
Cathay Pacific will start flying to Singapore from 26th May 2021 from Hong Kong which is the same day when the Singapore-Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble will launch.
The travel bubble was initially set to launch in November 2020 but was delayed due to a sudden spike of cases in COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong. It will now launch on 26th May 2021, with Singapore Minister for Transport, Ong Ye Kung, saying:
I am happy that Hong Kong got the Covid-19 situation under control. It has been a long few months, but the conditions are now ripe again to re-launch the ATB. Both sides will need to stay very vigilant in the next one month, so that we can launch the first flights smoothly. It is a significant ATB between two aviation and financial services hubs in Asia.
Daily flight to Singapore
Cathay Pacific will initially start flights between Singapore and Hong Kong on select days. First flight from Hong Kong will depart on 26th May while the first flight from Singapore will depart on 27th May.
Between 26th May and 9th June, the airline will operate round-trip flights on:
- 26th May
- 29th May
- 1st June
- 3rd June
- 5th June
- 6th June
- 8th June
The schedule for these flights is:
- Hong Kong-Singapore
- Departure time: 09:10
- Arrival time: 13:05
- Flight time: 3 hours and 55 minutes
- Flight number: CX759
- Singapore-Hong Kong
- Departure time: 14:45
- Arrival time: 19:00
- Flight time: 4 hours and 15 minutes
- Flight number: CX734
From 10th June 2021, the airline will fly daily to Singapore according to the above mentioned schedule. The flights will be operated by fully vaccinated pilots and cabin crew.
All of these flights will be operated by a Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Note that these are quarantine-free flights meaning passengers will not need to quarantine after arriving in Singapore or Hong Kong.
Return2hk Scheme
In addition to the resumption of the Hong Kong-Singapore Air Travel Bubble, Cathay Pacific had also welcomed the recently announced expansion of the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Return2hk Scheme. This will enable Hong Kong residents arriving from anywhere in the Chinese mainland to enter the city without the need to undergo quarantine.
The airline is currently operating flights between Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xiamen and Hong Kong, and is set to add further routes ‘in the coming months’.
The airline stated:
We believe the safe and secure bubble flights will be a milestone showcase for the opening of similar travel arrangements with other popular destinations. The ability for passengers to travel quarantine-free is vital to bringing cross-border air travel back to normal, pre-pandemic levels and we look forward to further relaxation of quarantine requirements in future.
For information on how to qualify for the travel bubble flights, see Cathay Pacific’s website.
For more information on the air travel bubble agreement between Singapore and Hong Kong, see this post.
This will be the second air travel bubble to start in the Asia region after Australia and NewZealand successfully started a travel bubble.
Featured image by Cathay Pacific
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