Starting from Nov. 6, 12am, Singapore will lift border restrictions for visitors from mainland China.
Requirements that visitors must adhere to include travelling to Singapore on a direct flight, and undergoing a Covid-19 test upon entry into Singapore.
Once they have tested negative, they will be allowed to go about their activities without needing to serve a Stay-Home Notice (SHN).
Spike in prices for direct flights between mainland China and Singapore
As such, November prices for direct one-way flights from Chinese cities, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, to Singapore have spiked for the few days where they are available on Skyscanner, Lianhe Zaobao reported.
A search on the site revealed that the price of a one-way flight from Shanghai on Juneyao Airlines on Nov. 6 is currently S$2,311.
Source: Screenshot from Skyscanner
Meanwhile, the Juneyao Airlines website itself shows a price of nearly S$2,500 for a direct flight.
Screenshot from Juneyao Airlines
As for Guangzhou, the price of the first one-way direct flight on Nov. 8, on Scoot, after the lifting of restrictions, stands at S$1,010 on Skyscanner.
Source: Screenshot from Skyscanner
Booking directly from Scoot shows a figure of S$1,240 instead.
Source: Screenshot from Scoot
As for direct flights from Beijing, these do not appear to be available on Skyscanner, until Jan. 1, 2021, where the cheapest flight with Singapore Airlines currently costs S$778.
Source: Screenshot from Skyscanner
Trend of air prices spiking once travel restrictions are announced is not new
Such an occurrence is not new, however.
Previously, when a travel bubble was announced with Hong Kong, with citizens from both cities exempted from quarantine or SHN, air fares rose by 40 per cent within 24 hours, according to Bloomberg.
At that time, a return flight on Singapore Airlines in economy stood at S$558 on Oct. 16, compared to S$400 when the news was first announced on Oct. 15.
People that had been highlighted as keen in taking advantage of the travel bubble included Chinese nationals who are looking forward to flying into Singapore to purchase luxury apartments.
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Top image collage left screenshot from Skyscanner, right image from Changi Airport Facebook