SINGAPORE - An average of 25 passengers arrive in Singapore from India on flights every day, with the vast majority returning Singapore citizens and permanent residents.
There are an average of 180 passengers departing on flights back to India from Singapore every day. These passengers are Indian citizens on Vande Bharat flights, or repatriation flights, which are the only passenger flights the Indian government currently allows to operate between the two countries.
Both outbound and inbound flights are operated only by Indian carriers designated by the Indian government, with the approval of the Singapore Government. All such flights operate out of Changi Airport's Terminal 1.
All other passenger flights between the two countries have been banned by the Indian authorities since March last year.
The figures were released in a joint statement by the Transport Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Manpower on Sunday (May 23), following questions from the media, as concern in Singapore grows over the B1617 coronavirus variant, which was first detected in India.
Of particular interest to locals is the Changi Airport cluster, which has ballooned in the past week to more than 100 people.
Test results for the initial batch of Covid-19-positive airport workers indicated the B1617 variant. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has suggested that the virus could have spread to the community when airport workers had their meals at the Terminal 3 Basement 2 commercial area and foodcourt.
Changi Airport terminals and Jewel mall currently remain closed to the public.
The three ministries said that Singapore Airlines continues to operate flights to India, but that these are cargo flights that do not carry passengers.
All arriving passengers at Changi Airport from India are subject to two Covid-19 tests, an antigen rapid test and a polymerase chain reaction test.
They are escorted from disembarkation to their dedicated transport to stay-home notice facilities, where they will remain for three weeks.
Since this month, the airport has segregated passengers arriving from high-risk places from other passengers, using different arrival immigration halls, luggage belts and toilets.
Their Covid-19 tests are also done at separate health screening stations.
Workers handling flights from the highest-risk countries, such as India, continue to wear full personal protective equipment.
Last week, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called for all flights between India and Singapore to be cancelled, falsely claiming a new strain of the virus in Singapore.
The Indian authorities have since clarified that only repatriation flights are in operation.
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