PUTRAJAYA, Feb 16 — The sale of bus and airline tickets under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Malaysia and Singapore has resumed to 100 per cent seating capacity for both land and air travel, with immediate effect.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong today said that the sale of air tickets under the VTL would be opened with immediate effect for travel, while the sale of bus tickets started immediately but only for travel from February 22 onwards.
"This is based on the current risk evaluation and with approval from the Ministry of Health Malaysia," said Wee in a statement on the move.
Singapore and Malaysia launched the VTL via air and land on November 29 but both countries suspended the ticket sales on December 23 following concern over the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
The sale of bus and flight tickets for the land and air VTL between Malaysia and Singapore was reopened on Jan 21 but with a 50 per cent reduction in the number allowed to travel from what it was before.
Wee said the VTL initiative had successfully allowed more international travel, which helped to boost the tourism sector and contribute to economic revival.
A total of 171,583 travellers from Singapore have benefited from the initiative for both air and land options as of February 14, 2022.
"We hope the VTL will benefit the people and revitalise the economies of both nations," said Wee.
Meanwhile, Wee said Malaysia and Singapore were in advanced discussions on expanding the VTL by air to Penang and Kota Kinabalu.
Currently, the VTL by air is only available between Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Changi Airport.
"We look forward to launching these services (Penang and Kota Kinabalu) soon," he said.
— Bernama
