Dhaka: All three passenger airlines of the SIA Group – Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, and Scoot – has become the first carriers in the world on February 11 to operate flights with a full complement of vaccinated pilots and cabin crew.

The first services with a full set of the vaccinated crew are SIA flight SQ956, which departed Singapore for Jakarta, Indonesia on February 11, 2021 at 0930hrs local time (GMT+8), Scoot's TR606 which departed for Bangkok, Thailand at 0930hrs, and SilkAir's MI608 which departed for Phnom Penh, Cambodia at 1630hrs.

The Singapore government has prioritised the aviation sector in the country's vaccination exercise. This reflects the sector's importance, as well as the SIA Group's crucial role in Singapore's economic recovery and the fight against Covid-19.

The operating crew within the SIA Group have responded very positively to the exercise, with over 90 percent of cabin crew and pilots signing up for the vaccine to date.

Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, said, "We are very encouraged by the strong take-up rate for the vaccine from our colleagues. Vaccinations will be key to the reopening of borders and to enhancing travel confidence, in tandem with robust testing regimes and the wide-ranging safe management measures that are in place on the ground and in the air. They offer greater protection for our people and provide an added layer of assurance to our customers."