Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

On Oct. 9, 2021, it was announced that Singapore will extend Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) to the U.S., UK, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

SIA website was down

Following the news, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) website encountered technical difficulties on Oct. 9 at about 3pm.

SIA stated on its website:

"Our website is experiencing technical difficulties, and we're working hard to fix them. Please visit our website again later or contact your local Singapore Airlines Office should you require urgent assistance. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

At about 5:50pm, SIA said in a statement to Mothership:

"Our website temporarily experienced technical issues for a few minutes. Customers are now able to access the Singapore Airlines website again, and check on our flight schedules and book flights.

We thank our customers for their patience, and apologise for the inconvenience caused."

VTL services expanded

The SIA Group announced on the same day that it has expanded its quarantine-free VTL network to 14 cities, with additional points expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

SIA will operate VTL services from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, and Rome starting Oct. 19, 2021.

On Nov. 16, 2021, SIA’s VTL services from Seoul will begin.

On top of Brunei and Germany

These flights are on top of SIA's existing VTL arrangements with Brunei and Germany, which began in September 2021.

Today, SIA operates VTL services from Bandar Seri Begawan, Frankfurt, and Munich.

Multi-city itineraries within VTL countries

SIA said that multi-city itineraries within VTL countries are allowed if travellers meet the 14-day travel history requirement, which includes transit countries.

For example, a traveller may fly from Singapore to Paris, and then Paris to Amsterdam, and still be eligible for the VTL flight from Amsterdam to Singapore.

However, a customer who flies from Singapore to Los Angeles via Tokyo will not be eligible for SIA’s non-stop VTL flight from Los Angeles as Japan is currently not included in the list of VTL countries.

SIA added:

"Customers travelling on the VTL flights can also enjoy fuss-free transfers via Singapore Changi Airport to 59 destinations within the SIA Group network.

All customers must ensure that they are eligible for Singapore’s VTL arrangements before their flights."

SIA's VTL flight schedules can be found here.

Scoot flights between Singapore and Berlin

Scoot, SIA’s sister airline, will also start operating VTL flights daily between Singapore and Berlin from Oct. 19.

Its first designated VTL flight from Berlin to Singapore will depart Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Oct. 20.

Scoot is also preparing to operate VTL flights to Seoul, subject to regulatory approval.

More information on Scoot's VTL flights can be found here.

Related story

Follow and listen to our podcast here:

Top image via SIA website.