Passengers travelling to Guangzhou on Sunday morning (August 30) gave the impression that they had no problem boarding the Scoot TR100, they had to fight for the last-minute Covid-19 tests after the Chinese embassy announced new requirements.
No passenger was turned away from the 5.15am flight when The Straits Times visited Changi Airport at around 2am on Sunday. When asked to confirm if all passengers were allowed to board, Scoot would only say that the flight departed with 254 passengers and two infants.
Earlier in the week, dozens of concerned passengers with seats on the Scoot flight, as well as other flights to China, showed up at Shuqun’s old high school for examination by Covid-19.
This follows an August 21 announcement through the Chinese Embassy: from August 28, all travelers from Singapore to China will have to pass a Covid-19 check within five days of their flight to be coronavirus-free.
Passengers booked on flight TR100 were alerted to the new requirement in an urgent email sent via Scoot on August 25.
They were invited to take the check at the regional detection center at the site of the former Jurong East School between 9am and 10.30am on Wednesday.
Passengers should also report that in the following 14 days they had had a fever of 37.3 degrees Celsius or higher and had been in contact with patients with fever or respiratory symptoms, among others.
Chinese citizen Ren Peng Ju, 30, who has lived in Singapore for 10 years, the test.
Ren, who works in the production sector, said his company has the advantage of its Covid-19 test.
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Passengers who take the check at the center must pay $186 before they can be informed of the effects of the check.
He said in Mandarin before entering the departures corridor on Sunday: “I went to get the check on Wednesday after receiving the email, but everything went pretty well. I was very grateful for the arrangements and am happy to move home.”
The Shandong local added that he will definitely return to China, aiming to set up his own business there.
“Coronavirus has hit (the productive sector) harshly in terms of jobs and wages. China has evolved well, there are more opportunities there and I think it’s time to go back.”
Another Chinese couple said they took it Thursday after receiving Scoot’s email.
Mr. He Jian Bing, 36, who works in advertising, had to pay the prices himself. But his wife, who works in the electronics industry, said his company had paid for his.
Mr. He said: “The procedure went smoothly. I think Singapore has done very well.”
After a negative for Covid-19, passengers had to email the result with a scanned copy of a signed aptitude declaration form and a photocopy of their passport biographical knowledge page at the Chinese Embassy.
The embassy has stated in the past that it would take at least one consecutive day to verify the documents.
Some passengers said they had heard of the chinese embassy’s news before Scoot sent his email.
Designer Jasmine Chen, a Chinese citizen and permanent resident of Singapore, said she had agreed to take the Covid-19 at Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Tuesday after learning of the requirement online.
The 34-year-old said, “I read it online, it was quite at the last minute and, in practice, I controlled to do the check on time.”
Ms. Chen, who has a husband in Singapore, said she returns to China to make a stop with her family. He’ll be back in about two months and booked a flight, he added.
Singapore and China announced in June a “fast track” agreement that allows others on both sides to fly to other countries without a quarantine era of up to 14 days.
The first flight to China after the new regulations came into force, Air China’s CA768 flight to Hangzhou, was made from Singapore this week with 47 passengers on board.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission is required for playback.