Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble has families on both sides of the South China Sea on edge

Travellers enter the check-in area at the departure hall of Changi International Airport in Singapore on March 15, 2021. - AFP

SINGAPORE, May 5 (Bloomberg): As Singapore’s government assesses any potential change to a planned travel bubble with Hong Kong following a spike in local virus cases, families on both sides of the South China Sea are waiting and watching with bated breath -- again.

Quarantine-free flights were originally meant to start last November, but the plan was postponed after an outbreak in Hong Kong. It was resurrected five months later and the first trips are scheduled for May 26. Relatives and friends are on the cusp of long-awaited reunions, but their hopes could still be dashed.