Hong Kong and Singapore have reached an in-principle agreement to establish a bilateral air travel bubble.

The move could help revive cross-border air travel between the two aviation hubs in a safe and progressive way, authorities said.

Hong Kong and Singapore enjoy strong trade, investment, finance, tourism and people-to-people ties.

Both cities are major aviation hubs, and the international air route between the two cities was among the busiest in the Asia-Pacific region before the pandemic. 

YK Pang, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourist Board, said, “We welcome the Singapore government’s announcement of the in-principle agreement to establish a bilateral air travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore.

“The announcement is a timely match with the Hong Kong’s launch of a standardised hygiene protocol for tourism-related sectors with the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency, which was announced last week.

“The protocol allows the tourism-related sectors to be well-prepared to welcome visitors back, while bolstering visitors’ confidence in travelling to Hong Kong.”

New Zealand and Australia launched a similar travel bubble last week.