SYDNEY/SINGAPORE — A quarantine-free travel bubble between Singapore and Australia could be established “within the next week”, said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday (Oct 22).

The arrangement will first be focused on allowing vaccinated students and business travellers to travel freely between the two countries, before opening up to tourists, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia is in the “final stages” of concluding the agreement with Singapore, said Mr Morrison, who added that it will also be dependent on whether Australian states ease their quarantine measures that have been in place for all international travellers.

Two Australian states, New South Wales and Victoria, have already scrapped their mandatory hotel quarantine from Nov 1, after meeting vaccination targets.

New South Wales had last week stated that international travel would resume from Nov 1 for fully vaccinated travellers, although this would first apply only to Australian citizens and permanent residents.

Neighbouring Victoria is set to announce a similar international travel policy, local media reported on Thursday evening, citing government sources.

“We anticipate that being able to be achieved within the next week or so, as we would open up to more visa class holders coming out of Singapore, we will see that occur,” Mr Morrison reportedly said.

Mr Morrison added that the travel bubble would be open to states and territories that were open “in the same way as they are here in Sydney” and that it aligned with the timetable Australian carrier Qantas has announced for its flights to and from Singapore.

Separately, Qantas said on Friday that it would speed up plans to restart flights to many destinations and upsize some planes amid "massive demand" for international flying as quarantine restrictions ease for Australian citizens.

"There is massive demand for Australians wanting to see their family and relatives," said Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce.

"There is massive demand for loved ones wanting to get together for Christmas. There is demand for people wanting to take that holiday that they have been looking forward to for nearly two years,” he added.

Qantas is set to launch a new route from Sydney to Delhi on Dec 6 while bringing forward plans for flights to Singapore, Fiji, Johannesburg, Bangkok and Phuket.

In a Facebook post on Friday morning, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was “delighted to hear that Australia will be allowing entry to visa holders from Singapore”.

Mr Lee added that he had encouraged Mr Morrison to do so when he visited Singapore in June.

“Singapore and Australia have robust economic and investment links, and warm people-to-people ties. Look forward to resuming close connectivity between our countries, as we move towards an endemic Covid future,” said Mr Lee.

Singapore welcomed on Wednesday the first travellers under an expanded quarantine-free programme after Singapore Airlines flights arrived at Changi from Amsterdam and London under the vaccinated travel lanes. WITH AGENCIES