Singapore lifts border restrictions for more countries

Singapore will soon allow vaccinated tourists from nine more countries to travel into the city-state without quarantine, providing an additional boost to the region's jet fuel demand.

The city-state announced over the weekend that it will expand its "Vaccinated Travel Lane" (VTL) network to another nine countries, after a pilot programme with Germany and Brunei. Fully vaccinated travellers from selected countries will be able to enter Singapore without serving quarantine, as long as they have been in the country for at least 14 days prior to their departure from Singapore.

The newly-added countries include Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, the US and South Korea. Visitors must test negative for the virus, and will have to take designated flights into the country.

The quarantine-free travel arrangements with the Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the US will begin on 19 October. The arrangement with South Korea will start on 15 November, in what the country's transport ministry has touted as the first arrangement of its kind between two major aviation hubs in Asia.

The country's national carrier Singapore Airlines will expand its VTL network to 14 cities, and will announce additional destinations in the coming weeks.

Singapore Airlines will operate the designated flight services to the cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris and Rome from 19 October, while its services to Seoul will start on 16 November.

The further lifting of such travel restrictions is expected to boost jet fuel demand in the region, and some countries in Asia have laid out plans to lift border restrictions as they move away from a zero-infection strategy.

Singapore's neighboring Malaysia also announced plans over the weekend to resume interstate and overseas travel from today, for those fully vaccinated. But a mandatory 14-day quarantine remains in place for inbound travellers. The country is not yet open to foreign tourists, apart from travellers for business, official purposes, or for emergencies.

The Asia-pacific jet fuel refining margins, or fob Singapore jet fuel swaps against Dubai crude values, has surged to pre-pandemic levels in recent weeks, averaging $12.24/bl so far this month. This is compared to an average of $7.88/bl in September. January 2020 was the last time refining margins exceeded $12/bl before the coronavirus turned into a worldwide pandemic.

By Cara Wong