Business class transit through Singapore (Changi): an absolute farce

[AIRwin]

I can't remember if those warnings were presented during booking process, or from subsequent e-mail after booking.

This appears as a pop up from the travel advisories info when inputting passenger details as part of the booking process:

 

[Chicken]

This appears as a pop up from the travel advisories info when inputting passenger details as part of the booking process:

I just found the e-mail with the eticket from the original booking.

Just above flight details in the body of the e-mail has:

You must ensure that you meet all entry requirements for your destination
As regulations may change at short notice, you should check the latest travel advisories before you fly.

And if you click that link, it takes you to the page "Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL)", where it has:

Transit passengers

Travellers transiting in Singapore are eligible for VTL flights if they meet the following requirements:

Be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Hold a valid vaccination certificate in English issued by any country.

Provide a negative result from a professionally administered Covid-19 PCR or ART test taken within 2 days prior to departure to Singapore. With effect from 23 January 2022, 2359hrs (SGT), transit travellers who have recently recovered from Covid-19 (I.e. within seven to 90 days of their last infection before departure to Singapore) may present appropriate documentary proof of their recovery instead of a negative test result. Learn more here.

Transit passengers flying from a Category IV country or arriving from Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland or the United Kingdom will be required to stay within a transit holding area, where amenities are restricted. The SilverKris Lounge will also be inaccessible due to these regulatory requirements. Learn more here.

So it is now really really important that people read all the information, every single word, at least twice, just to make sure nothing is missed. I myself had caught things I missed after reading things for the third time in preparation for my father doing this trip. Travelling post COVID is very different from travelling in 2019 B.C.

 

[Dr Bob]

Thanks for this information. I'm about to book my daughter home next weekend with so many awards available and as she likes a good break & swim at the Crown Plaza I was going to take a VTL with an 8 to 10 hr transit. Wow she would have been pi##@#. Now going for the 1 hr transit & she can have more Gin.

 

[mika_duffer]

They all happen to be where SQ flies from excluding Barcelona, Milan and Moscow (flight from Rome is routed via Copenhagen)...

I just found the e-mail with the eticket from the original booking.

Just above flight details in the body of the e-mail has:

You must ensure that you meet all entry requirements for your destination
As regulations may change at short notice, you should check the latest travel advisories before you fly.

And if you click that link, it takes you to the page "Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL)", where it has:

Transit passengers

Travellers transiting in Singapore are eligible for VTL flights if they meet the following requirements:

Be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Hold a valid vaccination certificate in English issued by any country.

Provide a negative result from a professionally administered Covid-19 PCR or ART test taken within 2 days prior to departure to Singapore. With effect from 23 January 2022, 2359hrs (SGT), transit travellers who have recently recovered from Covid-19 (I.e. within seven to 90 days of their last infection before departure to Singapore) may present appropriate documentary proof of their recovery instead of a negative test result. Learn more here.

Transit passengers flying from a Category IV country or arriving from Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland or the United Kingdom will be required to stay within a transit holding area, where amenities are restricted. The SilverKris Lounge will also be inaccessible due to these regulatory requirements. Learn more here.

So it is now really really important that people read all the information, every single word, at least twice, just to make sure nothing is missed. I myself had caught things I missed after reading things for the third time in preparation for my father doing this trip. Travelling post COVID is very different from travelling in 2019 B.C.

2019 BC? I wonder if the ancient Egyptians got routed to the Changi holding pen.

 

[Chicken]

2019 BC? I wonder if the ancient Egyptians got routed to the Changi holding pen.

2019 B.C. (read: Before COVID)

 

[Cruiser Elite]

mike_duffer? Any relation to Risotto?

 

[mika_duffer]

2019 B.C. (read: Before COVID)

Ahh haha. Living up to my newbie status. Cheers

 

[SYD]

Just book SYD-LHR (ret) on SQ J (out late Mar / back early May). Made a point of getting the shortest VTL connection back in case this silliness is still in play but hoping the comfortable transit time over will mean we still get to check out the refurb SK lounge…

 

[bpcmemorial]

I came through on a VTL flight from LHR last Tuesday. FWIW we didn’t walk, they put us on a train.

The main lady processing people coming in was evidently not having a good morning and was quite shouty and aggressive, a lot more Air China than Singapore Airlines style. I didn’t cop it but a few others did.

I didn’t know about the freebie vending machines in the premium area, but there are reasonably cheap vending machines in the main area where you can get a surprisingly decent coffee, bowl of noodles, curry, water etc. I wasn’t hungry but the food from the noodles & curry machine also looked surprisingly decent.

There’s a variety of seating - comfy chairs, standard airport ones, and cafe tables and chairs. There was plenty of space except that in the comfy chairs area there were a few people trying to keep seats next to them empty for social distancing.

Which you might think unreasonable. Until realising that the transit lounge mixes all transit passengers, VTL flights or otherwise, which makes the VTL concept a little redundant, and might concern those who’d booked VTL flights in an effort to minimise their risk.

 

[bpcmemorial]

I came through on a VTL flight from LHR last Tuesday. FWIW we didn’t walk, they put us on a train.

The main lady processing people coming in was evidently not having a good morning and was quite shouty and aggressive, a lot more Air China than Singapore Airlines style. I didn’t cop it but a few others did.

I didn’t know about the freebie vending machines in the premium area, but there are reasonably cheap vending machines in the main area where you can get a surprisingly decent coffee, bowl of noodles, curry, water etc. I wasn’t hungry but the food from the noodles & curry machine also looked surprisingly decent.

There’s a variety of seating - comfy chairs, standard airport ones, and cafe tables and chairs. There was plenty of space except that in the comfy chairs area there were a few people trying to keep seats next to them empty for social distancing.

Which you might think unreasonable. Until realising that the transit lounge mixes all transit passengers, VTL flights or otherwise, which makes the VTL concept a little redundant, and might concern those who’d booked VTL flights in an effort to minimise their risk.

As soon as your gate is called you can leave the transit area to go to the gate, but without being accompanied, and as far as I could tell this is as soon as the gate is open. Aside from angry shouty lady staff were quite friendly and helpful, no problem letting me come back ten minutes later to go to the loo (as there are none at the gates, so that’s probably useful info too).

 

[NoName]

Have a 19hr layover in SIN at the start of June and this is not making it sound appealing at all. This was booked last June and was deliberate to allow us to go out and spend the day in SIN as well as have dinner at the Four Seasons where MrsNoName & I were married. Heavily leaning towards changing the flights to minimise the layover. Could deal with 3hrs in the holding pen but not 19.

 

[Chicken]

Have a 19hr layover in SIN at the start of June and this is not making it sound appealing at all. This was booked last June and was deliberate to allow us to go out and spend the day in SIN as well as have dinner at the Four Seasons where MrsNoName & I were married. Heavily leaning towards changing the flights to minimise the layover. Could deal with 3hrs in the holding pen but not 19.

Not a good idea to have a long layover anywhere in the world for the next few years, becauase these are controlled environments, you are under direct mangement of authorities of whatever that location is. It would be good to minimise time in these environments.

If I need to fly, I would be happy to pay more in order to fly direct instead of the previous attitute of why fly direct when you could insert 10 legs.

And the following maybe a bit off topic, but Omicron is not the end of COVID, there is more to come, and COVID will keep going for another 2 years at least, so this should be a factor taken into consideration when people book things for the next 2 years.

 

[Duffa]

mike_duffer? Any relation to Risotto?

Yep, a sister!

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Yep, a sister!

Explains a lot - male Duffas are serious duffas - female Duffas top of the tree - Risotto gorgeous and Mrs Duffa seriously impeccable taste in Electric Bicycles

 

[stryker]

If I need to fly, I would be happy to pay more in order to fly direct instead of the previous attitute of why fly direct when you could insert 10 legs.

Well, I'm seriously considering buying a Y class ticket from SYD to LHR on UA via LAX, and going out of my way to have a 2-day stopover in Los Angeles (I love that place).

If you're going to go to the UK, there can't possibly be any downside to having a few days in California. Chalk and cheese, Covid wise (good on ya, Boris...)

And, I do have enough expiring PlusPoints to upgrade, so why wouldn't I? If you're going to get Covid (several times), it'll be in the UK...

 

[robbo135]

This was booked last June and was deliberate to allow us to go out and spend the day in SIN as well as have dinner at the Four Seasons where MrsNoName & I were married. Heavily leaning towards changing the flights to minimise the layover. Could deal with 3hrs in the holding pen but not 19

Well gone are the days where you could just leave the airport and come back at your leisure. Your plan would now actually require you to apply to enter Singapore which requires amongst other things an arrival PCR test.

 

[Chicken]

If you're going to go to the UK, there can't possibly be you're going to get Covid (several times), it'll be in the UK...

My worry is not on catching COVID, but the amount of paperwork, and associated regulatory requirements.

The amount of checking checking and checking again, plus all the documents required to be applied in Hong Kong and Australia, just to get my father HKG SIN SYD last month was massive.

Then you read the trip report of someone here flying to Switzerland for Christmas, and the amount of people that person saw being rejected at check in desks at various airports.

Stop overs are not worth my effort at the moment, unless I actually do intend to go there in the first place.

 

[NoName]

Well gone are the days where you could just leave the airport and come back at your leisure. Your plan would now actually require you to apply to enter Singapore which requires amongst other things an arrival PCR test.

None of the requirements would make any different whatsoever as to whether I would choose to enter SIN on the layover. The issue I believe is that it’s CURRENTLY not possible to do this with my booking.

 

[Chicken]

None of the requirements would make any different whatsoever as to whether I would choose to enter SIN on the layover. The issue I believe is that it’s CURRENTLY not possible to do this with my booking.

Have you checked the ICA self-help tool? Some European countries are currently listed as eligible to enter

 

[madrooster]

Have you checked the ICA self-help tool? Some European countries are currently listed as eligible to enter

It's not about eligibility here - a 19 hour transit is simply not practical for entering Singapore due to the post-arrival testing and isolation required.