Penang Airport welcomes passengers for the first time as part of the VTL by Air initiative.
The new Singapore-Penang Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) by Air programme welcomed its first passengers today at Penang International Airport (PIA).
Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood, managing director of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), praised the government’s VTL by Air programme for boosting international traffic and tourism, which will contribute to economic growth.
Because Penang is also a gateway to the northern states, the programme (VTL) to include Penang will help to revitalise our tourism economy. This will benefit Kedah, Perak, and Perlis as well. According to Datuk Iskandar, we predict between 1,000 and 2,000 VTL passenger journeys during the first week of operations.
Iskandar further stated that the VTL programme is beneficial in encouraging safe international travel. Although our borders will reopen on April 1, 2022, this programme will benefit travel between Malaysia and nations that have not yet fully opened their borders.
PIA now has a private health screening service operator at the airport, similar to KLIA, who will provide Covid-19 screening tests, and we have also received authorisation from the authorities to implement the ‘Test and Release’ arrival process for all VTL by Air programmes.
MAHB will work closely with the authorities as the country transitions into the Covid-19 endemic phase and prepares for the reopening of borders, according to Iskandar, to ensure a smooth airport experience for all passengers while ensuring the required safety protocols and health processes are implemented in a timely manner to keep everyone safe.
The “Test and Release” arrival method, which went into force today (March 16), allows passengers to leave the airport and go to their designated lodging without having to wait for the results of their Covid-19 RT-PCR screening test at the airport.
Once the test result is proven to be negative, the authorities will lift their HSO status in the MySejahtera app within 24 hours, allowing them to resume their normal activities. AirAsia’s AK1730 was the first VTL flight from Singapore to arrive at PIA. It landed around 6.40 p.m. today, bringing approximately 60 guests as part of the programme.
The plane was saluted with a water cannon, and passengers were given souvenirs to commemorate the occasion. Penang is the second Malaysian destination under the Singapore-Malaysia VTL scheme, following Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia Carriers, AirAsia, Singapore Airlines, and Scoot are the four airlines participating in this initiative. PIA is the country’s second busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic, after KL International Airport (KLIA).
