Khairy: Sales of VTL tickets between Malaysia and Singapore is re-opened

KUALA LUMPUR - The sale of bus and flight tickets for the land and air Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) initiative between Malaysia and Singapore, which was temporarily suspended last Dec 23, is reopened with immediate effect, today.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, however, said the quota for the bus and flight tickets had been reduced by 50 per cent from the existing capacity for land and air routes.

"However, passengers who have purchased tickets for travel dates after Jan 20, 2022, before the announcement on the suspension of the ticket sales were made, they are allowed to continue their journey using the VTL initiative according to the quota set earlier," he said in a statement here today.

According to Khairy, the decision to reopen the ticket sales for the two VTL initiatives was made following the result of a risk assessment that was carried out based on the current COVID-19 situation in both countries.

Last Dec 23, Malaysia and Singapore temporarily suspended the sale of air and land VTL tickets until Jan 20 following the threat of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

Khairy said the timeline on the increase in the quota for land and air VTL ticket sales depended on the risk assessment conducted from time to time by the Health Ministry based on the current COVID-19 situation in both countries.

He reminded travellers using the Malaysia-Singapore VTL platform to perform the self-test rapid antigen testing on the second, fourth, and sixth day after arrival or the RTK-Ag (professional) on the third and fifth day of their arrival.

The move, he said, was in line with the ministry’s previous announcement on strengthening COVID-19 preventive measures and existing controls for travellers from abroad, including those arriving at Malaysia's international gateways through the VTL initiative.

Travellers are advised to be responsible and always abide by the instructions and stipulated standard operating procedures set, as well as to perform the COVID-19 detection test to reduce the risk of infection, he added.

He said the recommendation was made to ensure cross-border travel involving the Malaysia-Singapore VTL could continue to be implemented safely. -- Bernama.