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A scheduled announcement on the air-travel bubble (ATB) between Singapore and Hong Kong has been called off again, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg further reported that no immediate explanation was given, and that the cancellation was first raised by Singapore.

MOT: Hopes to announce resumption of the ATB soon

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Transport told Mothership that authorities on both sides have been in "close consultations" on arrangements for the travel bubble.

MOT added: "We have not fixed a date to announce the resumption of the Bubble, but will do so once we are ready, hopefully very soon."

The ATB was previously planned to take place in mid-May before the delay.

Start of travel bubble delayed for second time

The delay marks the second time in five months that authorities have deferred the announcement on the ATB between both cities.

The ATB was originally scheduled to start on Nov. 22 last year but was deferred a day before (Nov. 21, 2020) following a rise in Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong.

On Dec. 1, 2020, authorities from both sides then announced a delay to the start of the travel bubble, deferring the plan to beyond 2020.

The latest deferment comes as a group of travellers on a flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong had tested positive for Covid-19.

The delay also comes after the Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday, Apr. 20, a new local Covid-19 cluster involving three cases linked to a man who was "probably re-infected" in India.

On the same day, Singapore had also announced tighter border measures for travellers arriving from India, citing the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country, as well as the emergence of new virus variants.

Top image via Roslan Rahman/Getty Images