SINGAPORE – When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Saturday (October 9) that travel restrictions would be further eased, Ryon Chan, 17, rushed to the Singapore Airlines (SIA) service center on Orchard Road.
His parents had entrusted him with a special task – to reserve four tickets to the United States so they could attend his eldest brother’s call-up at the University of California at Berkeley on December 18.
His brother, 24, also celebrates his birthday on the same day that he completes his degree in business administration.
Speaking to The Straits Times, Ryon, a 5th grade student at Anglo-Chinese School (International), said, “We ‘die’ have to go. We came here today to reserve tickets on the hotline. “
Ryon was also on the SIA website but didn’t expect to face any technical difficulties following Prime Minister Lee’s announcement.
Travelers fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to visit 11 countries without quarantine and with fewer swab tests as part of the vaccinated itineraries program in the coming weeks.
These countries, whose Covid-19 situation is stable, are Brunei, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Great Britain and the USA.
From October 19, vaccinated travelers from Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Great Britain and the USA can also enter Singapore without quarantine.
When ST visited the Ion service center at 6 p.m. on Saturday, some people were seen waiting outside but left after being told by SIA staff that there were 40 to 50 people inside.
ST assumes that those who managed to head downstairs before the service center closed at 6 p.m. had an expected three-hour wait.
Others like Mr Kumar, 50, chose to book tickets online instead.
Mr Kumar, 50, who refused to give his full name, tried to buy a ticket for his 19-year-old son, a freshman math and computer science student at the University of Chicago, to fly home.
He said: “Now that there is no more quarantine, he can come back for his winter break. His friends and family are all waiting for him here and he misses our Labradoodle.”
The pent-up demand for travel has shot through the roof, families are prepared to pay up to US $ 5,000 for a business class ticket to London.
This was originally the plan of freelance writer Eileen Chua, 50, and her family of four. But they decided to go to Paris instead because the fares were a little lower.
The last time the family went on vacation was two years ago when they visited Australia.
You will take a train or flight to the UK so Ms Chua’s 12 year old son can watch his favorite football team, Tottenham Hotspur, play.
Ms. Chua said, “Dad and son will likely watch football while my daughter and I might watch a few games.”
When asked why she was willing to pay so much for travel, Ms. Chua said it was also because she wanted to support Singapore’s national airline, which received gross proceeds of $ 8.8 billion from its rights issue last June Year has exhausted.
Ms. Chua said, “I want to support SIA now. As Singaporeans, we need to have this loyalty to our country.”
As the republic continues to open its borders, Ms. Chua remains unfazed by the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore and around the world.
She said: “Basically we have to live with it because nobody is spared. When children get the virus, it doesn’t really matter because most of the time they are asymptomatic. Also, my husband and I will get booster vaccinations. “Soon.”
In response to inquiries from ST on Saturday, SIA said: “Singapore Airlines today saw very high demand for our vaccinated Travel Lane flights.
“While we anticipated this and added more resources to our customer service points, the high demand may take our agents longer than usual to respond to inquiries or attend to customers.”
Customers are encouraged to check flight schedules, book flights and manage their bookings through the Singapore Airlines website or mobile app.
Additional coverage from Toh Ting Wei
