Singapore opens border to all Australians: Scoot resumes weekly Melbourne to Singapore flights

Singapore-based airline Scoot has resumed its weekly flights from Melbourne to Singapore, the first-time since the route was suspended in March when Australia closed its travel borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resumption comes as Singapore welcomes Victorians from November 6 with the lifting of border restrictions - the state being the last to be allowed entry into the south-east Asian city-state which lifted its borders to Australia on October 8. The first scheduled passenger flight took off on 2 November with the second scheduled flight to take off on November 9. Victorians can now also apply for an Air Travel Pass for entry into Singapore and will not need to complete hotel quarantine if they pass their checks on arrival.

Scoot is operating its wide-body 787 Dreamliner on the one-way flight route, which is operating weekly on Mondays, an 11.15am flight departing Melbourne Airport and landing at Changi Airport at 4.10pm (Singapore local time).

Due to Australian government travel restrictions, Scoot will not be operating a Singapore to Melbourne passenger flight until after 21 November, with the airline stating that this could be subject to change. The Singapore-Melbourne flight is scheduled as a weekly Sunday early morning flight departing Singapore at 6.55am and arriving in Melbourne at 5.35pm (AEST). The airline said the flight will currently fly without passengers and might carry cargo should it be required.

The airline has extended its one-time, free date change for all new bookings made from now until January 31, 2021, to help passengers plan their travels.

The airline is currently operating three-times weekly, return flights from Perth to Singapore. The route has been operating since December 2013, and resumed June 11 after it was suspended in March.

Flying with Scoot: COVID-19 measures

Passengers looking to fly with Scoot are asked to follow health and safety measures, including health checks for passengers and crew, enhanced cabin cleaning procedures, safe distancing measures and the adoption of a low-touch service model onboard.