China just announced that citizens from 6 countries will enjoy visa-free travel for 15 days! Here is what you need to know!
China : Visa-Free Travel For 6 Countries!
On Friday, 24 November 2023, China announced that citizens from these 6 countries will enjoy visa-free travel for up to 15 days:
France
Germany
Italy
The Netherlands
Spain
Malaysia
These six countries will join Singapore, Japan and Brunei, whose citizens already enjoy visa-free travel to China for up to 15 days.
According to Chinese government spokesperson Mao Ning, China has taken this step to help “promote the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world“.
This visa-free travel for those 6 countries, however, is a trial that will last from 1 December 2023 until 30 November 2024. This trial program may or may not be extended after that.
Travellers to China are generally required to apply for a visa. China appears to be trying out this visa-free travel option to revive its tourism industry that has been hard-hit by strict COVID-19 measures in the past 3 years.
China had the world’s strictest COVID-19 measures, maintaining them long after the rest of the world reopened. Even when the Chinese government decided to reopen its borders, it required inbound travellers to quarantine, which discouraged travel
It was only in March 2023 that China began issuing all types of travel visas again, and in July that it restored the 15-day visa-free travel for Singapore, Japan and Brunei. In August, China finally scrapped all COVID-19 test requirements for inbound travellers.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Celine Dion just died suddenly in the hospital after a tragic accident?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-11-07 : Added new video and other updates.
Updated @ 2023-08-31 : Added video, and updated with new examples, etc. Originally posted @ 2023-04-17
Claim : Celine Dion Just Died Suddenly In Hospital!
People are sharing YouTube and TikTok videos claiming that Celine Dion just died in a hospital after a tragic car / plane crash, with titles like :
1968-2023 Celine Dion RIP | Farewell to the legendary singer / Farewell to Celine
Rest in peace Celine Dion (1968-2023). Fans send their condolences to the singer
A video is coming forward that a famous name is in the headlines that a famous singer Celine Dion passed away in a plane crash.
Big Shock // “Celine Dion” Dies Suddenly At The Hospital // Heartbreaking Secret…
Stopped breathing 10 minutes ago / Celine Dion dies in hospital / goodbye Celine Dion
Very sad 10 minutes ago / Singer Celine Dion dies in hospital / goodbye Celine Dion
5 minutes ago! Millions of people cried over the sudden death of Singer Celine Dion, sad details…
Celine Dion Passed Away A Few Minutes Ago At Her Home. Funeral Held In Hollywood For 3 Days
1 Hour Ago / R.I.P Celine Dion Died In France / We Will Miss Your Voice So Much!
5 minutes ago/ R.I.P Talented Singer Céline Dion passed away at the age of 55, Goodbye and Rest
A few minutes ago in London / Died in a car accident / R.I.P. legendary singer Celine Dion
30 minutes ago / The family announced the sad news of Legend singer Celine Dion / Farewell in tears
Truth : Celine Dion Did Not Die Suddenly In Hospital!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by people to generate income from page views and YouTube advertising, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Legitimate Media Outlet Reported Her Death
These YouTube videos have been circulating for weeks and months, but people don’t seem to notice that no legitimate media has reported her death or car accident!
When Celine Dion announced that she was suffering from Stiff Person Syndrome, the media breathlessly reported it around the globe.
Celine Dion is not just a famous singer. She is a national treasure in Canada, and a musical legend. If she fell and broke a nail, you can be sure that celebrity blogs would have excitedly reported it, if not the mainstream media.
Yet, no legitimate media outlet or even a celebrity blog reported that Celine Dion was involved in any car or plane crash, much less died in a hospital after a tragic car / plane crash. That’s because it never happened!
Fact #2 : Celine Dion Is Still Alive + Well!
The truth is – Celine Dion (born Céline Marie Claudette Dion on 30 March, 1968) is very much still alive, as of Monday, 6 November 2023! Of course, you guys want “proof of life”, right?
Well, on the Monday night of 30 October 2023, Celine Dion attended a hockey game at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, and after that game, she met with the Montreal Canadiens team, and even took photos and a video (see minute 3:14) with them!
Then a few days later, Celine Dion was spotted in public on Saturday night, 4 November 2023, watching Katy Perry’s last show in Las Vegas!
I analysed the photos used in these videos, and traced the origin of two examples used in many of these videos.
This is a pretty good Photoshop effort, although you can see how Celine Dion’s dark brown hair suddenly became grey hair. And of course, you have to wonder why Celine Dion would still has her makeup on!
The truth is the fake news created edited the photo of Jan Key – a 65 year-old lady from Kalamazoo, Michigan, who was hit by a car on November 21, 2019.
The photo was taken by her daughter, Kitty Jenkins, on November 26, after Jan Key underwent a second surgery for her broken arm and collarbone. She underwent emergency surgery five days ago to treat her broken leg.
This photo, on the other hand, is a pretty bad Photoshop edit of a photo taken at the August 2018 funeral of Oliver Dragojević – a famous Croatian singer and composer.
To make it look like a Celine Dion funeral, the fake news creator added Lady Gaga appearing to cry, and unbelievably – René Angélil was edited in, with a portrait of Celine Dion magically floating in front of him.
For those who are not aware, René Angélil was Celine Dion’s manager who eventually married her on December 17, 1994. The only problem is – René Angélil died many years ago – on January 14, 2016 from throat cancer!
But I would like to give a special Bad Photoshop award to the fake news creator who came up with this gem.
Not only did he/she use the visage of a smiling Celine Dion, it was stitched on so badly, it’s really, REALLY funny!
Celine Dion, who was supposed to be dying in hospital from a terrible car accident, not only has both her eyes open and smiling, it looked the accident smashed her face sideways!
What a terrible, terrible Photoshop edit! If you are going to cheat people, at least put in some effort!
Fact #4 : Celine Dion Death Hoax Is Driven By Fake Fact Check Too
This Celine Dion death hoax is, sadly, also being driven by a fake fact check article by the MediaMass Project, which keeps “updating” the dates in their fake fact check article:
News of singer Céline Dion’s death spread quickly earlier this week causing concern among fans across the world. However the November 2023 report has now been confirmed as a complete hoax and just the latest in a string of fake celebrity death reports. Thankfully, the singer best known for hit songs like S’il suffisait d’aimer, My Heart Will Go On or Pour que tu m’aimes encore is alive and well.
Rumors of the singer’s alleged demise gained traction on Thursday after a ‘R.I.P. Céline Dion’ Facebook page attracted nearly one million of ‘likes’. Those who read the ‘About’ page were given a believable account of the singer’s passing:
“At about 11 a.m. ET on Saturday (November 04, 2023), our beloved singer Céline Dion passed away. Céline Dion was born on March 30, 1968 in Repentigny. She will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”
Hundreds of fans immediately started writing their messages of condolence on the Facebook page, expressing their sadness that the talented 55-year-old singer was dead. And as usual, Twittersphere was frenzied over the death hoax.
Where as some trusting fans believed the post, others were immediately skeptical of the report, perhaps learning their lesson from the huge amount of fake death reports emerging about celebrities over recent months. Some pointed out that the news had not been carried on any major network, indicating that it was a fake report, as the death of a singer of Céline Dion’s stature would be major news across networks.
Their claim of a viral R.I.P. Celine Dion Facebook page is false. There is no such Facebook page. It is their standard fake fact check spiel for fake celebrity deaths.
She joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. She’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet.
Hidden in the description page for the MediaMass Project is a disclaimer that they are a “satire” website. That’s the usual “cover” for websites peddling fake news.
Regardless of their reasons, anything posted by MediaMass.net must be considered as fake news, until proven otherwise.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did a Grab delivery rider really fly from Thailand to buy chicken rice in Singapore?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Grab Delivery Rider Flew To Singapore To Buy Chicken Rice!
A TikTok video, which allegedly shows a Grab delivery rider flying from Thailand to Singapore, simply to buy chicken rice, has racked up millions of views.
The 27-second video was recorded and posted by a Thai TikToker called Thita Vy, with these comments:
I want to eat Tokyo snacks.Will he go buy it in Japan for me? #grab #grabth
She apparently encountered this Grab delivery rider, while flying from Bangkok to Singapore. At first, she thought someone had ordered food delivery at the airport. But the man allegedly told her that he had been asked by a customer in Thailand to buy chicken rice in Singapore!
The viral video shows the man queuing up for the flight with the signature green Grab thermal bag, while holding a passport with his flight ticket. He is then shown stowing the thermal bag in the plane’s overhead compartment.
Truth : That’s Not (Really) A Grab Delivery Rider!
Now, we all know that chicken rice in Malaysia is tastier (and much cheaper!) than chicken rice in Singapore, Heck, everything is tastier and cheaper in Malaysia! 😉
In fact, Malaysian food is so delicious, someone actually sent a helicopter to collect 36 packets of Nasi Ganja from a famous nasi kandar outlet Ipoh in July 2021! But I digress…
Here is what we know so far about this viral story about chicken rice…
Fact #1 : Video Was Allegedly Recorded At DMK
According to the media outlet, 8world, the TikToker alleged that the incident occurred on 12 October 2023, at the Don Mueang International Airport.
That is plausible because the video shows people boarding an AirAsia flight, and AirAsia flies from the Bangkok Don Mueang Airport (DMK) to Changi International Airport (SIN) several times a day.
Fact #2 : The Man Flew From Bangkok To Singapore
The video shows the man holding a Thai passport, as he is waiting to board the AirAsia flight. It then cuts to the Changi International Airport, where the man is seen checking the green Grab thermal bag.
So the video does appear to show the man taking an AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Singapore. It, however, does not show him actually purchasing any chicken rice.
Fact #3 : Grab Labelled Video As Fictional
After the video went viral, Grab came out to refute the video, calling it “fictional”:
We understand that the fictional video was created by a member of the public independently.
Fact #4 : Man Was Not A Registered Grab Delivery Rider
In addition, a Grab spokesperson said that it does not offer cross-border food delivery services, and the man in the video was not registered with them as “a delivery partner”:
We do not offer such a service, and the person starring as a delivery partner in the video is not registered with Grab.
It is certainly plausible for rich folks to go to extreme measures to get their favourite foods. For example, Macau tycoon Stanley Ho famously sent 88 Musang King (Mao Shan Wang) durians on a private plane from Singapore to Hong Kong. Note – the durians were from Malaysia. 😉
That said, it doesn’t make sense for the man to put on a Grab uniform, or bring the Grab thermal bag… especially if he isn’t actually a Grab delivery rider!
Fact #5 : Grab Does Not Offer Cross-Border Food Deliveries
Grab said that it does not offer cross-border food deliveries. The only cross-border delivery service Grab offers is its 100+ Cities Delivery service, which is in beta testing.
Even that option only allows users to “order and send food and physical gifts from GrabFood and GrabMart merchant-partners that are available in the recipient’s city within an hour”.
In other words – the food and physical gifts must already be present in the recipient’s city. The only thing that is “cross-border” is the ability to order from another country.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Are Japanese airports now empty after Chinese tourists boycotted Japan over the release of the radioactive Fukushima waste water?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Japanese Airports Now Empty After Chinese Boycott!
People are sharing a TikTok video which claims that Japanese airports are now empty after Chinese tourists boycott Japan over the release of the radioactive Fukushima waste water!
Chinese tourists start boycotting Japan and Japanese international airport is so empty. 80% tax free stores are shutting down and hundreds employees are losing jobs. Also planned flights are cancelled because of not enough travellers to make airplane take off.
Japanese airports losing Chinese tourists How desolate is it? It feels like it’s really getting “cold”! Flights are almost always late! There is no huge purchasing power of the Chinese people For Japan’s airports and tourism industry It’s basically equivalent to a devastating blow 80% of shops in the airport have been closed Even go bankrupt Only a few stores are left to hold on. Japan’s largest duty-free shop facing the Chinese has closed down In the past, all the shops in Japanese airports basically spoke Chinese. Moreover, it is overcrowded and even the checkout line has to wait for half an hour. Now I can’t even see a ghost Not a single passenger said anything You can’t even see the staff One of the busiest airports in the world It’s basically cold in Japanese airports now When I took this video This should be the busiest time However, I became the only customer in the whole place My friend used to work at a Japanese airport All are now unemployed Japan is not opening up the country Estimate Japan’s tourism industry And the aviation industry is really going to die.
Japanese Airports Are Not Empty + There’s No Chinese Boycott!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS surrounding the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima NPS, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Evidence Japanese Airports Are Empty
First, let me just point out that the viral video does not actually show any evidence that Japanese airports are now empty because Chinese tourists boycotted Japan over the release of the Fukushima treated waste water.
There are many videos showing empty Japanese airports like Narita and Haneda during the COVID-19 pandemic. The viral TikTok video could easily be a mishmash of those videos.
Unfortunately, the TikTok video creator covered up the video with text too much for me to trace the original videos. But it looks like a compilation of different videos.
Fact #2 : Chinese Account For 10% Of Travellers To Japan
Even if there is an unofficial Chinese travel boycott to Japan, it wouldn’t make Japanese airports empty, or force shops to close.
While that makes Chinese tourists the second largest group of foreign tourists to Japan, a complete boycott wouldn’t make Japanese airports look like a ghost town, or force their shops to close down.
Fact #3 : At Least Part Of Video Was Recorded On 12 October
Although the TikTok video creator tried to mask any identifiable features in the video, he/she let something slip.
If you look closely at the date on the flight information display that showed flight cancellations, the date was 12 October.
The year is not listed, but it is only 6 September 2023 today, and the Fukushima-Daiichi NPS only started to release its waste water on 24 August 2023.
Unless the TikTok video creator has a time machine, he/she used at least one video recorded on 12 October from past years. It may not even be as recent as the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
For example, many airlines cancelled flights in or out of Japan from 11-13 October 2019, when Super Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan.
Fact #4 : Subtitles Suggest Video Was Before Japan Reopened Borders
On the other hand, the final three Chinese subtitles in the video suggest that the video was recorded before Japan reopened its borders on 11 October 2022.
Japan is not opening up the country Estimate Japan’s tourism industry And the aviation industry is really going to die.
日本在不开国 估计日本的旅游业 和航空业真的要完蛋
Fact #5 : No Evidence Of Chinese Travel Boycott
In any case, there is no evidence of any Chinese travel boycott, whether official or unofficial. Many airlines are still flying people from China to Japan.
I checked to see how many flights there are from Chinese cities to a single airport from 11 September to 17 September 2023.
Instead of seeing a dearth of flights since there is a Chinese boycott, I counted no less than 158 flights from Chinese cities to Narita International Airport over 1 week!
That’s an average of 22.5 flights per day from China to Narita International Airport. And that’s just one airport in Japan. What boycott???
Fact #6 : Many Narita Airport Shops Do Not Open 24/7
The viral TikTok video appears to show that the Dior and LEGO stores are shuttered and closed at the Narita International Airport. But did they really close down as the video claims?
The truth is – not all shops inside the Narita or Haneda airports open 24/7. Dior at Narita Airport, for example, opens from 7:30 AM until 9 PM daily. The LEGO Store at Narita Airport only opens from from 9 AM until 7 PM.
If you land late at night, you will be able to record a similar video showing both shops closed. Does that mean that they shut down because of a Chinese boycott? Obviously, not.
Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR579 die suddenly from the COVID-19 vaccine during the flight?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Qatar Airways Pilot Died From Vaccine Mid-Flight!
Some people are suggesting or claiming that the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR579 died suddenly mid-flight due to a COVID-19 vaccine injury or SADS!
William Makis MD : BREAKING NEWS: Another PILOT has died inflight!!
Aug.16, 2023 – Quatar Airways QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Quatar diverted to Dubai as 51 year old senior pilot collapsed inflight and died!
2nd pilot death & 4th collapse THIS WEEK! #DiedSuddenly #cdnpoli #ableg
Stew Peters : ANOTHER pilot #DiedSuddenly, MID FLIGHT. Qatar Airlines vaxxed all their pilots, evidently.
#PureBloods will rule the world one day soon.
Jack Straw : BREAKING NEWS: Another PILOT has died inflight!!
Aug.16, 2023 – Quatar Airways QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Quatar diverted to Dubai as 51 year old senior pilot collapsed inflight and died! 2nd pilot death & 4th collapse THIS WEEK!
No Evidence Qatar Airways Pilot Died From Vaccine Mid-Flight!
It’s now tradition for anti-vaccination activists to blame all sudden deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Here are the reasons why this is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists…
Fact #1 : Qatar Airways Pilot Was Passenger Aboard QR579
First, let me just point out that the pilot who died aboard Qatar Airways flight QR579 was not the senior pilot for that flight. He was aboard the flight as a passenger.
To be clear – Qatar Airways flight QR579 was never in any danger during the tragic incident. It was not one of its two pilots who had a medical emergency and died.
Fact #2 : He Died Onboard Qatar Airways QR579
On August 16, 2023, Qatar Airways flight QR579 took off from Delhi, heading towards Doha. 30 minutes into its flight, the Airbus A350-900 aircraft suddenly turned left and headed for Dubai International Airport (DXB), where it landed 30 minutes later.
Later, it was reported that the aircraft with the registration of A7-ALM diverted to Dubai due to a medical emergency – a senior pilot who was travelling as a passenger, suddenly fell critically ill onboard.
Despite a swift response and medical assistance onboard flight QR579, he could not be saved. He was declared dead on arrive at Dubai International Airport.
Fact #3 : The Pilot Allegedly Died From Cardiac Arrest
The Qatar Airways pilot was a 51 year-old man of Indian origin, who had flown SpiceJet’s inaugural flight in 2005:
The pilot had worked with Alliance Air and spent 17 years in SpiceJet. He had operated SpiceJet’s first flight, Delhi-Ahmedabad, on May 23, 2005. Last year he had joined Qatar Airways where he was flying the Boeing 777.
A colleague who worked with the pilot for several years expressed shock, stating that “He was very fit and his untimely demise has come as a big shock for everyone who knew him“. That quote is being used to claim or suggest that the pilot “must have” died from a COVID-19 vaccine injury of some sort.
There is no evidence that his death has anything to do with COVID-19 vaccines. And certainly, people pushing those claims offered ZERO evidence to back up their “expert opinions”.
Officially, Qatar Airways has not commented on the death of the pilot. But India’s Zee News reported that the pilot was ascertained to have died from cardiac arrest.
While it is likely that the pilot died from sudden cardiac arrest, I would caution that the pilot’s official cause of death remains unknown.
Until and unless his family and/or Qatar Airways or the Dubai authorities reveal his official cause of death, any claim that he died from this or that cause should be taken with a pinch of salt.
While anti-vaccination activists claim that there is a sudden surge of “untimely deaths” from cardiac arrest, it has long been a major cause of death… long before the COVID-19 vaccines were invented.
The United States alone records over half a million cases of sudden cardiac arrest cases every year – an incidence of about 130 per 100,000 individuals per year. Many people have undiagnosed heart conditions that may not produce noticeable symptoms in daily life, but could result in sudden cardiac arrest at any time.
A 2012 study discovered that people in Southern India who died from sudden cardiac arrest were 5-8 years younger compared to people in the western hemisphere.
10% of all deaths in Southern India were caused by sudden cardiac death
almost half were 60 years-old or younger
many were diagnosed with heart disease
over 80% had at least one risk factor for coronary artery disease – hypertension, diabetes, or smoking
they were generally 5-8 years younger than similar cases in the western hemisphere
Fact #5 : Unknown If Qatar Airways Pilot Was Vaccinated
Despite suggestions that the Qatar Airways pilot was fully-vaccinated, there isn’t any actual evidence that he ever received the COVID-19 vaccine. We don’t even know his name, much less his COVID-19 vaccination status!
Qatar Airways also never mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for its pilots or its aircrew. Instead, pilots and aircrew were offered two options – get vaccinated, or undergo a COVID-19 test every few days.
[H]ow did Qatar Airways achieve 100 per cent crew vaccination without threatening dismissal against vaccine-hesitant workers?
Unlike the United States, cabin crew in Qatar weren’t immediately prioritised for the vaccine and supply issues meant that Qatar hasn’t had a surplus of vaccines that are going to waste either.
But when crew did become eligible, they had a simple choice – get vaccinated or have an invasive COVID-19 test every few days to prove your negative status.
That said – the pilot is likely fully-vaccinated. He only joined Qatar Airways in 2022. Previously, he was with SpiceJet. While it is unknown whether SpiceJet has a vaccine mandate for its aircrew, SpiceJet is promoting the fact that its crew members and ground personnel are fully-vaccinated and masked.
Even so, I should point out that COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory in India, and the pilot may possibly have left SpiceJet over the vaccination mandate (if there’s one). So it is still possible that the pilot was not vaccinated against COVID-19. We simply do not know his vaccination status for sure. Heck, we don’t even know his name!
Until and unless the pilot’s family (or Qatar Airways) reveals his COVID-19 vaccination status, anyone who tells you that the unnamed pilot was vaccinated or otherwise, is likely lying to you. None of us have any evidence of that.
Fact #6 : Vaccine Side Effects Appear Within Hours / Days
Even if the Qatar Airways pilot was fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, he would have received his doses more than a year ago! It is quite impossible for him to suffer from vaccine side effects, because they appear within hours or days, not months later.
Mild side effects like injection site pain, fever, muscle ache, headache, lethargy develop within minutes to hours of the vaccination.
Anaphylaxis develops within minutes, while other severe adverse reactions like myocarditis and VITT develop within days or weeks.
The spike proteins produced by the COVID-19 vaccines also do not stick around for months. If these spike proteins are permanent (as antivaxxers claim), we would have lifelong immunity.
Your own immune system will identify the spike proteins as foreign, and destroy them within a matter of days, although some may last for up to a few weeks. This is part of how vaccines teach your immune system to identify the enemy and destroy it.
Fact #7 : Claims Of COVID-19 Vaccine Injuries Often Proven False
Most claims of sudden deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false. Here is the latest dozen of other false sudden death claims!
Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next death or tragedy…
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
People are still claiming that Rab Wardell died from vaccine SADS, but that’s not true!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-08-06 : Updated with Rab Wardell’s official cause of death and other new details Originally posted @ 2022-09-03
Claim : Rab Wardell – Cause Of Death Was COVID-19 Vaccine!
It’s been almost a year since Rab Wardell died suddenly after he won the Scottish MTB XC Championships, but people continue to claim that the cyclist died from the COVID-19 vaccine. Here are just some examples circulating on social media :
rab wardell death read about rab wardell death cause #vaccine #StoptheShots🙀🙀🙀🙀
This is Mountain biker Rab Wardell speaking on TV last night about winning the Scottish championship 2 days ago.
He’s now dead, 37yrs old, “died in his sleep👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Rab Wardell another victim of the covid vaccine. How about that Fauci ?
RIP Rab. Huge fan. The truth of what the spike proteins from both the virus and the “vaccine” are doing to us is coming out, little by little. Your death will not be in vain. The truth is slowly but surely coming out.
Rab Wardell : Cause Of Death Was Not Vaccine SADS!
It’s becoming tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all athlete deaths or injuries on the COVID-19 vaccine.
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Rab Wardell Died From Athlete’s Heart
37 year-old Scottish cyclist Rab Wardell died on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 – just two days after winning the Scottish MTB XC Championships, and hours after appearing on BBC Scotland’s The Nine programme to talk about that victory.
Almost immediately, anti-vaccination activists started claiming that he died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.
The next day, his wife – Katie Archibald – spoke out, explaining that Rab Wardell died from a cardiac arrest he suffered while they were in bed together.
I think you’ve heard that Rab died yesterday morning. I still don’t understand what’s happened; if this is real; why he’d be taken now – so healthy and happy.
He went into cardiac arrest while we were lying in bed. I tried and tried, and the paramedics arrived within minutes, but his heart stopped and they couldn’t bring him back.
Mine stopped with it. I love him so much and need him here with me. I need him here so badly, but he’s gone. I can’t describe this pain.
Almost a year later – on 31 July 2023, Katie revealed Rab Wardell’s official cause of death – hypertrophy of the left ventricle, which is also known as athlete’s heart. She wondered if Wardell might still be alive if he had not returned to elite level competition.
Maybe if he had just stayed being a bit inconsistent, a bit s—…
Fact #2 : Rab Wardell Was Likely Fully-Vaccinated
While there is no direct evidence that Rab Wardell was vaccinated against COVID-19, he travelled a fair bit in 2021 – mostly to Europe and Canada.
The European Union and Canada both require non-residents to be fully-vaccinated. While it is possible to enter with a vaccine exemption, it is far more likely that Rab Wardell was fully-vaccinated.
Fact #3 : Rab Wardell Did Not Get Pericarditis From Vaccine
A number of blogs posted claimed that Rab Wardell suffered a serious adverse event after getting his second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in the summer of 2021, after which he attended a rally in Washington DC to speak up against the vaccine :
Following his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine last summer, Warner suffered a serious adverse event and was diagnosed with pericarditis. Subsequently, at a rally in Washington DC, he opened up about his experience in front of thousands of rallygoers.
“We were advocating for some acknowledgment and support for people whose lives have been affected by emergency use authorized vaccines.
I hope you can hear my message and understand why I decided to advocate for this cause. It was not something I had planned or wanted to do, but the truth needed to be revealed,” Warner said in an Instagram post.
There are a few problems with that claim.
the quote appears to be referring to someone called Warner, not Wardell.
Rab Wardell never travelled the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Rab Wardell never said he suffered pericarditis from any COVID-19 vaccine.
In October 2021, Rab Wardell was in Italy for the Marathon World Championships when he shared that it was the first time he flew overseas since the pandemic began.
After he returned from Italy, he mostly stayed in Scotland and only travelled to Mallorca and London. In other words, he cannot be that “Warner” who spoke out against vaccines in a Washington D.C. rally in the summer of 2021.
Wardell also shared that he contracted COVID-19 in May 2021, but never once mentioned that he suffered from pericarditis when he detailed his last 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Such an adverse event would have materially affected his training and put him out of action for a few weeks. Yet, he had no issues preparing for the Marathon World Championships.
Fact #4 : No Evidence COVID-19 Vaccines Cause SADS
After billions of doses have been administered, there is still no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause SADS. In fact, this is a rather ludicrous claim as SADS was first documented in 1977 – long before COVID-19 vaccines were invented!
SADS also occurs at a rate of 0.12 to 0.21 per 100,000 people every single year. In other words, approximately 9,000 to 16,000 people die from SADS every single year, before the COVID-19 vaccines were invented.
Despite what anti-vaccination activists may tell you – SADS is not a new vaccine-related syndrome.
SADS is usually caused by an abnormal heart rhythm that leads to a cardiac arrest. That’s why it can be prevented by implanting a cardioverter-defribillator.
Fact #5 : Vaccine Side Effects Appear Within Hours / Days
Even if Rab Wardell was fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, he would have received all of his doses many months ago.
He cannot possibly have died from a vaccine side effect, because they appear within hours or days, not months later.
Mild side effects like injection site pain, fever, muscle ache, headache, lethargy develop within minutes to hours of the vaccination.
Anaphylaxis develops within minutes, while other severe adverse reactions like myocarditis and VITT develop within days.
The spike proteins produced by the COVID-19 vaccines also do not stick around for months. If these spike proteins are permanent (as antivaxxers claim), we would have lifelong immunity.
Your own immune system will identify the spike proteins as foreign, and destroy them within a matter of days, although some may last for up to a few weeks. This is part of how vaccines teach your immune system to identify the enemy and destroy it.
Fact #6 : Deaths / Injuries From COVID-19 Vaccines Can Be Proven
Despite anti-vaccination activists chalking up celebrity deaths to the vaccine; death or injury from rare vaccine adverse effects like anaphylaxis, myocarditis and VITT can be proven.
Anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) from Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines happens within minutes. That’s why people are asked to wait for 15-30 minutes after getting the vaccine. People who get an anaphylactic shock will require an epinephrine shot to quickly relieve it.
Vaccine-induced myocarditis has distinct histopathology findings that are different from typical myocarditis, so a pathologist will be able to determine if the myocarditis was caused by the vaccines or otherwise.
Vaccine-induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT) is very specific to the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. It is also easily differentiated by its unique combination of blood clots in large veins of the brains, abdomen and lungs, together with low platelet counts leading to bleeding tendencies.
Fact #7 : Many Athletes Die Unexpectedly Every Year
What many of us do not realise is that many athletes die unexpectedly every year, and the number has been steadily increasing every year.
This chart from the Maron study shows a progressive rise in sudden death reports of 6% per year, from 1980 to 2006.
In fact, the number of sudden deaths in young and fit athletes more than quadrupled from 1980 to 2006!
This debunks the claim that such a rise in sudden death must be due to the COVID-19 vaccine, which obviously did not exist back then.
COVID-19 vaccines underwent massive clinical trials, and were only approved after they were proven to be safe and effective.
In addition, they were constantly monitored after they received their approvals, which picked up rare side effects after they were administered to billions of people.
Anti-vaccination activists have often claimed that those who received the vaccine would die. Yet, the opposite was true – the vaccines are not only safe, they are effective in protecting people from getting hospitalised or dying from COVID-19.
Even prominent antivaxxer Steve Kirsch is healthy and well, despite being fully-vaccinated against COVID-19!
Fact #9 : COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Claims Often Proven False
This is yet another example of anti-vaccination activists abusing athlete deaths / injuries to create and propagate FAKE NEWS about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
So far, most claims of athlete deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false.
Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next athlete tragedy…
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Are travellers queuing up for hours at KLIA after immigration officers started a Work to Rule protest?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Long Queues At KLIA Due To Immigration Work To Rule Protest!
People are sharing a video, claiming that it shows long queues at KLIA after immigration officers started a Work to Rule protest, over recent accusations of corruption!
Work to rule being enforced by immigration officers in KLIA as protest over the recent issue. Terrible if true! 🫢🧐🤨🤨🤨
Here’s a You Tuber telling us his story at the KLIA today. 😰😥😱
In the 1 minute and 22 seconds long video, a foreign tourist is seen complaining that he had to spend 2 hours getting through immigration at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
After waiting in line for an hour, he was sent to an immigration office where he had to wait for another hour before he was questioned. Only after an extensive questioning was the tourist released with a 90-day pass.
No Evidence Long Queues At KLIA Are Due To Immigration Protest!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why!
Fact #1 : Fake News Is Based On Immigration Corruption Claims
First, I should point out that this fake news is based on the recent accusations of corruption involving immigration officers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Here is a quick recap.
On Thursday, 29 June 2023, two ladies arrived at KLIA from Shenzhen, China – a senior official of a Chinese government-owned TV station, and her personal assistant.
The senior official was duly cleared and allowed entry by the Immigration Department, but her personal assistant was denied entry, and allegedly told that there were discrepancies in her travel documents. The lady was allegedly told that she would need to pay several thousand ringgit to be allowed to enter Malaysia.
The Chinese TV official called up the consulate general of Malaysia in Guangzhou to seek help. The consulate general’s staff then contacted Malaysia Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing, who went to KLIA to investigate the matter. The personal assistant was later allowed to enter Malaysia, after the Minister intervened.
A day later, Tiong claimed that there was a “culture of corruption” within the Immigration Department’s handling of foreign visitors at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
I feel it is high time that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) enter KLIA in full force to probe what is actually happening in this major entry point.
I’m grateful that my presence there managed to uncover an embarrassing situation for the country, in which there is a culture of corruption among a number of officers as well as chronic abuse of power at the country’s major gateway.
Tiong also said that he learnt that some immigration officers would demand up to RM3,000 to free tourists from detention, and he would be sending the information to the MACC.
They would demand RM3,000 to enable the tourists to go through a ‘special lane’ and RM12,000 for visa processing costs.
I should also point out that the term, work to rule, refers to a situation where employees strictly follow their working hours, and do no more than the minimum required by their contract or job.
By that definition, it is unknown if any Immigration officer in KLIA is currently “protesting” through work to rule measures. They could simply be seen as doing their jobs, but nothing beyond that.
Fact #3 : Video Was Taken In May 2022
While it is impossible to know whether immigration officers are protesting through work to rule action, I can tell you that the viral video has absolutely nothing to do with the current controversy involving Malaysian Immigration officers at KLIA.
That’s because the video was originally taken in May 2022. The YouTuber in the video is called Ken Abroad, and he posted the video on 22 May 2023, with the title, “I Almost Got Denied Entry To Malaysia 🇲🇾“.
In the video, he detailed his journey from his home in Germany to Malaysia, via Turkey. When he landed in KLIA over a year ago, he spent more than 2 hours getting through immigration.
But notably – Ken Abroad was released without paying a single cent to immigration officers. Neither did he accuse them of corruption.
Fact #4 : Video Was Edited
The viral video originally had a long runtime of 15 minutes and 51 seconds, but was cropped to just 1 minute and 22 seconds.
Whoever cut this video to share on WhatsApp and social media platforms would obviously be aware that this was originally posted more than a year ago on YouTube.
Fact #5 : Complaints About KLIA Queues Are Perennial
Complaints about long queues at KLIA immigration are perennial. If you check social media, you can see people complaining about this months and years ago, even before the COVID-19 pandemic!
Such queues are also not limited to KLIA immigration counters. They have been documented in airports all over the world, especially in very busy airports (like Heathrow and LAX), and during busy times (when multiple flights land at around the same time).
Just because there is a queue at the immigration counters does not mean there is any industrial work to rule action going on. Often, it just means that there is a large number of people queuing up to get processed.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Timothy Shim gives us the low-down on the 5 strategies for negotiating airfare discounts with SAP Concur!
Negotiating Airfare Discounts with SAP Concur!
Whether it’s a short hop to a neighboring city for a client meeting or an international conference halfway around the globe, airfare costs can significantly dent your company’s budget. That’s where systems like SAP Concur step in.
From leveraging data to setting up effective travel policies, we will explore five strategies for negotiating airfare discounts with SAP Concur. But before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s understand what SAP Concur is and how it functions as a critical part of your corporate travel management toolkit.
5 Minute Read
Use SAP Concur’s robust reporting tools to gain insights into your company’s travel patterns and use this information to identify potential areas for negotiation with airlines.
Centralize your company’s travel bookings with SAP Concur and present your travel volume data to airlines when negotiating for discounts.
Use SAP Concur to plan and book corporate travel in advance, demonstrating your commitment to airlines and leveraging this in your negotiations for better rates.
Track airfare fluctuations with SAP Concur and use your active engagement with market trends to secure better deals from airlines.
Leverage SAP Concur to manage and track your company’s relationships with airlines, leveraging your loyalty and long-term commitment to negotiate for ongoing discounts.
5 Strategies for Negotiating Airfare Discounts with SAP Concur!
SAP Concur is a cloud-based solution integrating travel, expense, and invoice management into one unified system. It aims to simplify these processes and provide a seamless, user-friendly experience.
Travel Management with SAP Concur
Concur Travel is a feature within the platform that allows businesses to manage and streamline their corporate travel processes. It offers a comprehensive range of services, including online booking tools, travel management services, and mobile applications.
These services aid companies in reducing costs, enforcing travel policies, and providing travelers with a smooth and efficient experience.
Expense and Invoice Management
Concur Expense and Concur Invoice are additional features to simplify the expense and invoice management processes. Concur Expense lets employees quickly capture and submit expense reports from any location.
That does much to reduce errors and improve compliance. Concur Invoice automates invoice processing, helping businesses manage spending and cash flow more effectively.
SAP Concur’s Impact on Business Operations
By integrating travel, expense, and invoice management, SAP Concur gives businesses visibility and control over their spending. It also offers valuable insights into spending patterns, helping companies make informed decisions and save money.
Whether a business has a small travel team or a large multinational operation, SAP Concur is designed to adapt to unique needs and deliver tangible benefits.
The first step to effective negotiation is knowing your ground, and in the context of airfare discounts, that means understanding your travel data. SAP Concur shines here, providing businesses comprehensive insights into their travel habits.
Key Data Points to Focus On
First, pay close attention to your company’s frequently traveled routes, preferred airlines, and ticket classes. Focus on asking the right questions to provide the most actionable insights for your business. For example;
Which routes are your employees traveling the most?
Which airlines are they choosing?
Are they booking economy, business, or first-class tickets?
These data points provide a solid foundation for negotiation discussions with airlines.
Analyzing Trends and Patterns
SAP Concur allows you to analyze trends and patterns in your travel data over time. For instance, you may find that your employees travel more frequently during certain times of the year or prefer specific airlines for international flights. These patterns can provide leverage when negotiating airfare discounts.
Translating Data into Negotiation Power
Armed with this data, you can approach airlines with confidence. Showcase your loyalty to specific airlines, emphasize the volume of business you bring, and demonstrate your understanding of your company’s travel needs.
When airlines see that you know your travel patterns and preferences, they’re more likely to consider offering discounts.
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur’s reporting tools to gain a comprehensive overview of your company’s travel patterns.
Analyze the data to identify trends, such as the most frequently traveled routes, the most used airlines, and peak travel periods.
Use this information to identify potential areas for negotiation with airlines.
Once you’ve grasped your travel data, it’s time to focus on volume. As with many things in business, higher volumes can often lead to better deals, and air travel is no different.
With SAP Concur, you can aggregate your travel data to demonstrate the volume of your bookings, forming a compelling case for discounts.
Consolidating Travel Bookings
It’s essential to consolidate your company’s travel bookings as much as possible. Instead of allowing your employees to book flights individually, use SAP Concur to centralize your travel bookings.
This simplifies the booking process and allows you to negotiate with airlines as a single, high-volume customer.
Presenting Your Case to Airlines
When you approach airlines with a substantial volume of business, you’re in a much stronger negotiating position. Airlines are always looking for consistent, reliable customers. Showing them that you provide significant business can encourage them to offer you better rates.
The Win-Win Situation
By offering airlines a substantial and steady volume of business, you’re creating a win-win situation. The airline gets a reliable source of revenue, and in return, your company gets more favorable airfare rates. This symbiotic relationship is the heart of effective negotiation.
Leveraging SAP Concur’s Tools
SAP Concur provides the tools necessary to leverage your travel volume effectively. This platform is an essential partner in your negotiation journey, from consolidating bookings to presenting comprehensive reports.
Using SAP Concur to showcase your travel volume, you can confidently negotiate airfare discounts and ensure your company gets the best possible deals.
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur to centralize all your company’s travel bookings.
Make a report showcasing your company’s travel volume.
Present this report to airlines when negotiating discounts.
Strategy #3: Utilize Advanced Booking
We’ve all heard the saying, “The early bird gets the worm,” right? In our case, replace “worm” with “discount.” Being an early bird can be a real game-changer when bagging those sweet airfare deals. And here’s where SAP Concur comes in handy, making advanced booking a breeze.
Think about it – when airlines see steady, early bookings, they’re more willing to give us a break with some discounts. Plus, it’s a stress reliever! You get to avoid the last-minute scramble for tickets, and it’s easier to plan your budget when you know the costs upfront.
SAP Concur is like that incredibly organized friend we all wish we had. With its advanced booking feature, planning your corporate travel well in advance is simple. You can book flights, reserve hotels, and even arrange ground transport, all in one place.
The Art of Negotiation with Advanced Booking
But let’s get back to the discounts. Advanced booking can give you a leg up when negotiating with airlines. Showing them that your company is organized and committed to booking in advance can be a persuasive argument for a lower rate.
Creating a Win-Win Situation (Again!)
Just like with travel volume, advanced booking creates a win-win situation. The airlines have the security of early and regular bookings, and you get to bag those tempting discounts. It’s like a beautiful dance, and SAP Concur is your dance partner, guiding you through each step.
So, remember to plan. It’s not just about saving your sanity; it’s about saving dollars. Advanced booking with SAP Concur? That’s a smart move.
Actionable Tips
● Use SAP Concur’s booking tools to plan and book corporate travel well in advance.
● Track the cost savings achieved through advanced booking.
● Highlight your company’s commitment to early booking when negotiating with airlines.
Next up on our list of strategies is dynamic pricing. That might sound like some sort of jargon straight out of a business textbook, but trust me, it’s more complex than it sounds. It’s all about adaptability, flexibility, and being ready to ride the ever-changing airfare prices.
Airfare prices are like a rollercoaster—they go up, down, and make sudden turns. As a savvy business, we must monitor these fluctuations and use them to our advantage. When we know that prices are changing, we can swoop in and grab those discounts when they pop up.
This is where SAP Concur struts its stuff. It allows us to track these price changes and alerts us when prices drop. It’s like having a vigilant guard dog that barks (or, in this case, sends notifications) when a good deal is on the horizon.
Dynamic Pricing and Negotiation
When you’re at the negotiating table with airlines, being able to talk about dynamic pricing can give you an edge. It shows airlines that you’re not only aware of the market trends but you’re also ready to react to them. This can make them more willing to offer special deals and discounts.
Creating Yet Another Win-Win
By now, you’ve probably noticed a pattern—we’re all about creating win-win situations. With dynamic pricing, the airlines get a customer who’s engaged and responsive to the market, and you get to save some of those hard-earned dollars.
So, let’s embrace the rollercoaster of dynamic pricing. We can ride the ups and downs with great discounts with SAP Concur. Remember, being adaptable in business is a virtue; in this case, it can save you money!
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur’s tracking features to keep an eye on airfare fluctuations.
Book immediately to secure the lower rate when you notice a significant price drop.
Mention your dynamic pricing strategy during negotiations with airlines to show that you’re an active and engaged customer.
Last but not least is the power of long-term partnerships. We’re not just talking about fleeting, one-off deals here. No, we’re looking at the big picture—establishing relationships with airlines that can lead to ongoing discounts.
Loyalty goes a long way in business, and air travel is no different. Airlines appreciate customers who stick around. Knowing they can count on your company’s regular patronage gives them stability.
This is where SAP Concur’s ability to track and manage your travel data shines. It helps you keep track of your company’s relationship with each airline and makes it easier to demonstrate your loyalty when negotiating for better rates.
Using Partnerships to Negotiate Discounts
When you’ve established a long-term relationship with an airline, you’re no longer just another customer—you’re a valued partner. This gives you a significant advantage when negotiating airfare discounts.
Airlines are more likely to give better rates to customers who will continue to bring them business.
The Long Game Wins
Establishing long-term partnerships is like playing the long game. Yes, it requires commitment and consistency, but the payoff can be substantial. Airlines get the assurance of your loyalty, and you get the benefit of ongoing discounts. It’s a classic win-win.
Actionable Tips
● Use SAP Concur to track your company’s relationship with each airline.
● Share this data with airlines to demonstrate your loyalty and commitment.
● Leverage your long-term relationship with airlines to negotiate for ongoing discounts.
Final Thoughts: Turning Strategies into Savings with SAP Concur
We’ve certainly covered some ground! From understanding your travel data, leveraging your travel volume, utilizing advanced booking, and implementing dynamic pricing, to establishing long-term partnerships, it’s clear that there are multiple strategies for negotiating airfare discounts.
And guess what? SAP Concur has been our faithful companion, offering us the tools and features to implement these strategies effectively. It’s more than a travel, expense, and invoice management platform.
It’s a powerful ally that helps us navigate the tricky terrain of corporate travel and airfare negotiation.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was this viral photo of an amazing full circle rainbow captured by a pilot flying at 30,000 feet?!
Take a look at the photo, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : This Rare Rainbow Was Captured By Pilot At 30,000 Feet!
People are sharing what they claim is a rare rainbow captured by Lloyd J Ferraro, a pilot flying over the Pacific Ocean at at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
Rainbow at 30,000 Feet: Pilot’s Photo Captures Rare and Breathtaking Sight
A rare sight was captured from the cockpit of a commercial airplane as pilot Lloyd J Ferraro took a stunning photograph of a complete rainbow from an altitude of 30,000 feet. The breathtaking image shows the colors of the rainbow in their full spectrum, arching gracefully across the sky.
Rainbows have long been a source of fascination for people around the world, with their vivid colors and seemingly magical appearance. While rainbows can be seen from the ground after a storm, it is much rarer to witness a complete rainbow from the vantage point of an airplane.
According to Ferraro, he was flying over the Pacific Ocean when he spotted the rainbow and decided to capture the moment on camera. The resulting photograph has since gone viral, captivating people around the world with its beauty and rarity.
The image not only showcases the beauty of nature but also highlights the incredible capabilities of modern technology. Ferraro was able to capture the stunning photograph using a smartphone camera, demonstrating how accessible and advanced our technology has become.
This incredible photo serves as a reminder of the beauty and wonder that surrounds us in our everyday lives. It is a testament to the power of nature and the marvels of modern technology, and it has inspired people around the world to appreciate the small moments of beauty that exist in the world around us.
Truth : Rare Rainbow Was Not Captured By Pilot At 30,000 Feet!
This is yet another example of FAKE PHOTOS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Photo Was Not Taken By Lloyd J Ferraro
Lead Stories spoke to the pilot, Lloyd J Ferraro, on March 1, 2023. He has seen circular rainbows while flying, but he did not take that viral photo.
Ferraro shared that both he and his colleague copied and shared the rainbow image on social media, but he did not take the photo himself.
Fact #2 : Circular Rainbows Are Not Particularly Rare
Lloyd J Ferraro said that full-circle rainbows are not as rare as people think, and people do not need to be in an airplane to see one – a full circle rainbow can be observed from any high vantage point, like a mountain top.
In fact, NASA featured this full circle rainbow photo as its Astronomy Picture of the Day on December 27, 2022. That amazing photo of a full circle rainbow was taken using a drone by Swiss photographer Lukas Moesch over the Lofoten islands of Norway.
NASA also explained why full circle rainbows are more commonly seen from the air, instead of the ground.
Have you ever seen an entire rainbow? From the ground, typically, only the top portion of a rainbow is visible because directions toward the ground have fewer raindrops. From the air, though, the entire 360-degree circle of a rainbow is more commonly visible.
Pictured here, a full-circle rainbow was captured over the Lofoten Islands of Norway in September by a drone passing through a rain shower.
An observer-dependent phenomenon primarily caused by the internal reflection of sunlight by raindrops, the rainbow has a full diameter of 84 degrees. The Sun is in the exact opposite direction from the rainbow’s center. As a bonus, a second rainbow that was more faint and color-reversed was visible outside the first.
Lloyd J Ferraro could not have been the creator of the photo, because the viral photo of the rare circular rainbow circulated much earlier.
It appeared to have been posted in the Facebook group, Beautiful Nature, as part of a 5-photo collection of rainbows on February 6, 2023. After that, it went viral with many people sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.
But a closer examination of these photos will show a digital watermark at their lower right corners. These photos were created by someone with the user ID of 5463530014 on the Chinese social shopping platform Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).
Fact #4 : Professor Labelled Rainbow Photo As Fake
Lead Stories asked Roland Stull, a professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of British Columbia to analyse the photo. He labelled it as a fake rainbow photo, and explained why:
It is fake. Rainbows form a circle centered around the shadow of the photographer or the camera; namely, looking away from the sun.
In the photo you attached, based on the sides of the clouds that are illuminated by the sun, the rainbow incorrectly appears to be in the direction of the sun, not opposite to the sun. Also, the rainbow circle itself appears to be incorrectly touching the location in the sky where the sun is (even though it is hidden behind a cloud), instead of the circle being centered on a shadow opposite to the sun (i.e., centered around the “anti-solar” point).
Fact #5 : Rainbow Photo Most Likely Generated By AI
It is not possible to know if the fake rainbow photo was digitally drawn by an artist, or created by AI image generators.
However, due to the numerous examples of similar rainbow photos with the same tone and colour palette, they were all likely generated by text-to-image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E or Stable Diffusion.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Passengers on Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings won’t need to switch off personal devices during take-off and landing! Here is what you need to know!
Malaysia Airlines Passengers Won’t Need To Turn Off Devices!
On Tuesday, 28 June 2023, the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) announced that its airlines – Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, and MASwings – are the first airlines to enable Gate-to-Gate connectivity for passengers by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
From 1 July 2023 onwards, passengers on three airlines can keep their personal devices switched on at all times. There is no longer the need to switch off your phone, tablet, laptop, or other devices, or stow them during take-off or landing.
As long as those devices must have their wireless connectivity turned off using the “Airplane Mode” or “Flight Mode“, you can continue to use them during take-off, or landing. This allows you to continue working on your laptop, or watch downloaded content on your phone or tablet during the entire journey, without interruption.
With this new regulatory approval, Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, and MASwings are the first airlines to allow Gate-to-Gate connectivity for passengers departing from Malaysia.
We are committed to providing exceptional customer service and innovative travel experiences which places customers at the heart of everything we do.
By enabling gate-to-gate connectivity across all our airlines, it allows passengers to stay connected throughout their journey with us; whether it’s to keep their loved ones updated on the move or even get some work done during their flight.
Malaysia Airlines To Provide Free Wi-Fi For 2H 2023!
Malaysia Airlines also announced that it will provide limited free Wi-Fi connectivity to its Business Suite, Business Class, and Enrich Platinum (regardless of ticket class) passengers from 1 July until 31 December 2023.
Each passenger will be given up to 100 MB of free Wi-Fi data per sector to use, at a speed of up to 512 kbps. This free Wi-Fi offer will be made available on 20 Malaysia Airlines aircraft.
Beyond that free limit, passengers can continue to surf the Internet through its pay-per-use Wi-Fi offering. In addition, all passengers can access its wireless in-flight entertainment system through its web-based MHStudio service.
As part of our connectivity strategy, we will be actively expanding the number of our aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi to provide an improved in-flight experience to our valued customers. With a focus on safety, comfort, and convenience, we are dedicated to making air travel more accessible and enjoyable for all of our passengers.
We will continue to invest in innovative technologies and services to meet the changing needs and provide comfort to our passengers as guests to our ‘home’.
The wireless connectivity onboard MAS aircraft, and passenger ability to use their devices from Gate-to-Gate, will come in handy with the refreshed Boeing 737 cabin, which feature lightweight seats that lack in-flight entertainment screens.
Instead, these new seats will come with a personal device holder, and a pair of USB Type A and USB Type C charging ports.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Truth : FedEx + Southwest Jet Near Collision Video Is From Game!
This is yet another example of MISINFORMATION circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Fact #1 : FedEx + Southwest Jets Did Almost Collide
First, let me confirm that a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Airlines jet did almost collide on Saturday, February 4, 2023.
In that incident, air traffic controllers at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport cleared an arriving FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane to lane, while simultaneously clearing a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 to take off using the same runway!
Air traffic controllers first cleared the Southwest Airlines jet to take-off from runway 18 Left, when the FedEx jet was 3.2 nautical miles (6 km) away.
When the FedEx jet was 2.19 nautical miles (4 km) from the airport, controllers told the FedEx crew to land on the same 18 Left runway.
The FedEx crew later realised that they were about to overfly the Southwest plane, and quickly aborted their landing while telling the Southwest crew to abort their takeoff.
According to Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the two planes almost collided, with a separation of “less than 100 feet (30 metres)”.
I’m very proud of the FedEx flight crew and that pilot. They saved, in my view, 128 people from a potential catastrophe. It was very close, and we believe less than 100 feet.
The near catastrophe apparently happened because the Austin airport is not equipped with Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE). Air traffic controller could see the FedEx jet on radar, but could not see the Southwest Airlines jet taxiing on the ground.
The ASDE system was important in preventing a runway collision in January 2023, between taxiing and departing aircraft at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.
BREAKING: FedEx cargo plane narrowly misses crashing into Southwest Airlines plane taxiing on runway at Austin International Airport, Texas pic.twitter.com/2KF0ifokRF
While the incident was real, the video isn’t real. The video was created using the 2020 computer game, Microsoft Flight Simulator by Monster21 who posted it on YouTube and TikTok.
On his YouTube channel, Monster21 explicitly pointed out that the video was created on Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the title, “Real incident at Austin on Microsoft Flight Simulator“.
On TikTok though, he posted it with a shorter title of “Real incident at Austin Feb 4th 2023“, but did include a #microsoftflightsimulator2020 hashtag.
Unfortunately, it is being shared as if the video is genuine, just like these other videos created by computer games:
Fact #3 : Video Does Not Accurately Simulate The Event
While the video creator was simulating the close call between the FedEx and Southwest jets based on flight data, it isn’t an accurate depiction.
The video showed that it was a bright and clear day. That’s not accurate because the incident happened at around 6:50 AM. Dawn only broke at 6:55 AM in Austin, Texas on February 4, 2023.
There was also fog at the airport that day. So it would have been rather dark and foggy at the same time, with poor visibility.
That would explain why the FedEx crew did not spot the spot the Southwest jet lining up on the runway much earlier.
While the video is not real and is just a simulation, the audio recording is genuine albeit edited.
The air traffic control audio recording was made available through Live ATC of Austin-Bergstrom Airport’s traffic control, and began at around 6:47 AM.
The full audio recording lasts just over 6 minutes, but was edited to just over 2 minutes by Haemaker to remove dead spots. As he noted – “It did NOT happen this fast“.
The video used the shorter, edited Haemaker audio recording, so it sounds more dramatic than what really happened in real life. Here is how USA Today explains the audio recording:
The FedEx pilot asks the tower if the plane is confirmed to land, to which the controller responds yes and lets the pilot know about the Southwest flight taking off.
About 30 seconds later, the controller asks the Southwest flight to confirm if it is “on the roll.” To which the pilot immediately responds, “Rolling now.”
After about 20 seconds of silence, the tower says, “Southwest abort. FedEx is on the go.”
There’s no response, and nearly nine seconds later, the tower tells the Southwest flight to turn right when able. Southwest immediately responds by saying, “Negative.”
The tower comes back about 17 seconds later and tells the FedEx pilot to climb and maintain 3,000 feet and turn left, which the pilot confirms upon receiving the instruction.
Near the end of the recording, after the FedEx plane has landed and said it cleared the runway, the tower apologizes to the pilot and thanks them for their professionalism.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Does a viral video show a close-up of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet shooting down the spy balloon from China?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Viral Video : Close-Up Of F-22 Shooting Spy Balloon From China!
This video is going viral on WhatsApp and social media platform, claiming to show a close-up of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet shooting down the spy balloon from China.
Screenshots of the video showing the F-22 fighter jet firing a missile at the spy balloon have also been used in some editorials in pro-CCP websites, and even a Falun Gong-affiliated website!
Truth : Viral Video Of F-22 Shooting Down Spy Balloon Is From Game!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : F-22 Shoot Down Audio Is Genuine
First, I should point out that the audio in the video is genuine, and accurately depicts the communication between the F-22 pilots and Huntress (NORAD’s Eastern Air Defense Sector Controller) on an open channel that anyone can listen to.
The audio clip was apparently recorded by Ken Harrell, a 68 year-old retiree and aviation hobbyist, who was listening in. This was confirmed by US Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek:
The audio is authentic and depicts communication from the 1st Fighter Wing pilot confirming the aerial target was destroyed. It’s important to clarify this audio is communication between the pilot and air traffic control that can be heard by anyone on the same frequency
However, the subtitles are mangled and at least partly wrong. Here is an abridged transcript of the audio communication between the F-22 pilots and air traffic control (Huntress) during the spy balloon shoot-down.
HUNTRESS : Five miles offshore.
FRANK01 : Frank One is switches hot.
FRANK02 : Frank Two is switches hot.
…..
HUNTRESS : HUNTRESS. Six miles offshore.
FRANK01 : FRANK01. Splash one! TOI 1.
HUNTRESS : HUNTRESS copy. Splash.
EAGLE02 : That is a t-kill. The balloon is completely destroyed.
EAGLE01 : There appears to be metal chaff cloud. It’s definitely metal breaking apart. Screen for an altitude check.
Fact #3 : Viral Video Was Edited From Game Video!
I traced the viral video to a YouTube channel called Growling Sidewinder, which posted the original video on 6 February 2023.
It appears that someone edited Growling Sidewinder’s video to remove the title sequence at the beginning, and the credit at the end, before sharing it on WhatsApp and social media.
Growling Sidewinder clearly stated that the video used the real audio recording, but the video itself was recreated using Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) – a flight simulation game released in 2008 by Eagle Dynamics and The Fighter Collection.
Last year, I fact checked a viral video purportedly depicting Russian forces shooting down NATO jets and helicopters. In that example, the fake news creator used footage from the video game, ArmA 3 (Armed Assault 3).
When I watched the video, I immediately knew that it was fake, because it showed the F-22 engaging the Chinese spy balloon at about the same altitude, and at a very short distance.
What many people may not realise is that the F-22 fighter jet fired its AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at a considerable distance away from the spy balloon. This was confirmed by numerous videos recorded by the public from a distance.
In addition, we also know that the F-22 fighter jet was only able to attain an altitude of 58,000 feet, while the Chinese spy balloon was much higher – at about 65,000 feet. The Chinese spy balloon was floating approximately 7,000 feet (2.1 km) above the F-22 fighter jet!
Based on the audio transcript, it took about 7 seconds for the Sidewinder missile, which travels at over Mach 2.5, to hit the spy balloon, roughly placing the F-22 about 6 kilometres away from the balloon when it fired the missile.
Fact #5 : The Spy Balloon Did Not Explode
If you watch the publicly released videos of the AIM-9X missile hitting the spy balloon – and there are many, you would quickly realise that the viral video is fake, because it showed a large explosion.
The actual videos only show black and white smoke when the missile exploded next to the spy balloon’s payload.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the US Air Force paint a balloon kill on the F-22 fighter jet that shot down the Chinese spy balloon?!
Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : US Painted Chinese Balloon Kill On F-22 Fighter Jet!
Pro-CCP netizens are either mocking or criticising the US Air Force for painting a balloon kill on the F-22 fighter jet that shot down the Chinese spy balloon!
The U.S. F-22 fighter jet has created the current record for the highest altitude air kill: 65,000 feet. It is said that after returning, he even tattooed a pattern on the plane to commemorate the military exploits. Don’t you think it is annoying?
Fifty cents: anti-aircraft weapon hit mosquitoes‼ ️
At 03:39 on February 5, Beijing time, an F-22 fighter jet that took off from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, USA, launched an AIM-9X worth about 400,000 US dollars at an altitude of nearly 18,000 meters (58,000 feet). The “Sidewinder” infrared-guided air-to-air missile shot down a CCP high-altitude balloon worth hundreds of dollars flying at an altitude of about 20,000 meters (65,000 feet), and the balloon wreckage then fell in the waters off the coast of South Carolina.
Truth : US Did Not Paint Chinese Balloon Kill On F-22 Fighter Jet!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : It Was First Official F-22 Air-to-Air Kill
First, we need to acknowledge that the shooting down of the Chinese spy balloon was officially the first air-to-air kill for the F-22 Raptor fighter jet.
Although the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor entered US Air Force service in December 2005, it has not engaged in any air-to-air combat. Its combat sorties had so far consisted of very limited bombing missions in the Middle East.
So shooting down the Chinese spy balloon was the first time the F-22 was “blooded” in air combat, albeit against an easy target that could not manoeuvre to evade, or fire back.
I mention this point because it is entirely possible and legitimate for the pilot to paint a balloon kill on his F-22 fighter jet.
Fact #2 : Viral Photo Was Edited From 2020 Photo
While it is possible that the F-22 fighter jet that shot down the Chinese spy balloon may sport a kill marking of some sort, there was no official release of any photo of such a kill marking or decal.
What I can confirm is that the viral photo was edited, by painting a white balloon onto a photo originally posted by the Edwards Air Force Base on April 3, 2020.
Here is a photo comparison I created, showing the Edwards Air Force Base Facebook post, and the fake viral photo.
Fact #3 : FRANK01 Flew From Langley Air Force Base
The viral photo shows an F-22 Raptor flown by Major Brandon Burfeind from the 411th Flight Test Squadron, based out of Edwards Air Force Base in California. His F-22 fighter jet has a fuselage number 007, and the airframe number 91-4007.
The F-22 Raptor that shot down the Chinese spy balloon was flown by an unnamed pilot using the callsign FRANK01, from the Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
While we do not know the name or rank of the FRANK01 pilot yet, his F-22 fighter jet is definitely not the same as the one shown in the viral photo, as he is based on a different USAF base in a different state.
Interesting note : The FRANK01 callsign is an apparent homage to World War I Medal of Honor recipient First Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr., who is known as the “Arizona Balloon Buster” for shooting down 14 German balloons, as well as four planes.
Fact #4 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda
This appears to be yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens.
All of the wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far have proven to be false… at every instance. So please watch out for such false claims.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Find out why the US Air Force shot down the Chinese spy balloon using an expensive $400,000 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile!
Claim : US Shot Down Spy Balloon Using Expensive Missile!
Pro-CCP netizens are mocking the US government for shooting down a cheap Chinese weather balloon using an expensive $400,000 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile!
US so panic of a balloon
they sent FOUR (4) fighter jets (2 x F-22s, 2 x F-15s) to “survey the situation”, before firing that $400k AIM-9x Sidewinder A2A missile to shoot the balloon down.
America used a $400,000 missile fired from a $216,000,000 fighter jet to shoot down…
Why US Shot Down Chinese Spy Balloon With Missile!
This is yet another example of PROPAGANDA created and propagated by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : There Were Two Chinese Balloons
On Friday, February 3, 2023, China admitted that the massive balloon hovering over the US state of Montana belonged to them, but claimed that it was a weather balloon and not a spy balloon.
Later that same Friday, a second balloon was spotted over Latin America. It took China another 3 days to admit that it was theirs, and another “weather balloon” that was “blown off course”.
Fact #2 : Chinese Balloon Was Not A Weather Balloon
Weather balloons are common – thousands are launched daily across the world to collect information on the temperature, wind and moisture in the upper atmosphere.
Weather balloons are not very large – expanding from 6 feet (1.8 metres) to 20 feet (6 metres) in diameter as they rise in altitude. Their payloads are also small, consisting of a small box with a few sensors.
The Chinese weather balloon that the US Air Force just shot down is not only much larger at around 90 feet (27.5 metres) wide, it also has a very large payload that includes large solar panels, and even propellers to control its movement.
The kinds of weather balloons that are launched twice a day from Weather Service offices are typically just a little box that has a temperature sensor, relative humidity sensor, pressure sensor and then a little tiny transmitter. Based on the photos that have been going around, there’s obviously a lot more equipment on this one. – Alexandra Anderson-Frey, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Washington
Real weather balloons also do not travel far – they generally go up to a high altitude and stay there. Spy balloons, on the other hand, need to travel long distances. This Chinese balloon has travelled all the way from China to Alaska to Canada, before reaching the continental United States.
The reported characteristics of this balloon don’t really match anything that we’re familiar with. This has been traveling at a much longer distance than what would be these standard weather balloons.
[Standard weather balloons] go up over one particular place and up to about 50,000 feet in the atmosphere, and then that’s it, they’re done. They don’t travel large distances, so I think that there’s pretty significant differences between typical weather balloons and this reported balloon. – Jonathan Porter, Chief Meteorologist at Accuweather
Fact #3 : Chinese Balloon Was At Very High Altitude
The US Air Force sent two F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to take down the spy balloon, with two F-15 fighters to probably take videos and photos of the event.
While Chinese netizens may snigger at how the USAF has to use such an expensive fighter jet to shoot down a cheap Chinese balloon, they ignore the fact that the Chinese spy balloon was operating at a very high altitude of about 65,000 feet – that’s 20 km above ground level!
The F-22 Raptor was likely chosen for the task as it was most capable of flying to such a high altitude while loaded with missiles. Many jet fighters have “similar” maximum service ceilings, but their true service ceilings are often much lower, limited by the amount of armament and/or fuel they carry.
Fact #4 : Missile Was Necessary To Shoot Down Balloon
In the end, the F-22 Raptor with the callsign FRANK01 attained an altitude of 58,000 feet (17.7 km) before firing an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. It was the first air-to-air combat kill for the F-22.
While Chinese netizens mocked the use of such an expensive missile, the AIM-9X Sidewinder is the smallest and cheapest air-to-air missile in the USAF arsenal.
It would be impossible for the F-22 Raptor pilot to use its 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon to shoot down the balloon, which is still 7,000 feet (2.1 km) above it!
In case you are wondering – the M61A2 Vulcan has an effective range of only 2,000 feet (600 metres). So a missile was necessary to bring down the Chinese spy balloon, and the AIM-9X was the right tool for the job.
Interestingly, the FRANK callsign may be a reference to World War I Medal of Honor recipient First Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr., who is known as the “Arizona Balloon Buster” for shooting down 14 German balloons, as well as four planes.
Fact #5 : China Breaks International Law With Spy Balloon Overflights
It is ludicrous for anyone to claim that China can keep sending “cheap” spy balloons to trigger the Americans, as every country has “complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory” under international law.
Such acts are therefore violations of international law, and infringements of the sovereignty of the countries that these spy balloons overfly.
That’s why Chinese government keeps claiming that these spy balloons are civilian craft. That is also why the US government has the right to shoot down the spy balloon without asking China for permission.
Fact #6 : Every Fallen Balloon Is An Intelligence Bonanza
In the United States, Republicans are complaining that President Joe Biden was weak in allowing the Chinese spy balloon to fly off the coast of South Carolina before shooting it down on Saturday afternoon, February 4, 2023.
What they don’t tell the people is that President Joe Biden asked the US Air Force to shoot down the spy balloon as soon as it was safe to do so.
On top of that, the US military wanted to retrieve the spy balloon to examine its payload, and the best way to keep the payload intact would be to bring down the balloon over shallow water, instead of land.
In accordance with the President’s direction, the military brought down the balloon within sovereign U.S. airspace and over U.S. territorial waters to protect civilians while maximizing our ability to recover the payload.
On Monday, February 6, 2023, the first parts of the Chinese spy balloon arrived at the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, for further analysis.
Depending on what they recover, it may be possible to determine what these spy balloons are capable of, what it recorded, and who manufactured its components. The Americans may possibly gain insights into hitherto unknown Chinese technologies.
Instead of mocking the Americans for shooting down a “cheap” spy balloon, perhaps the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens should worry about what the Americans might find….
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did WEF founder Klaus Schwab ban vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos 2023?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Klaus Schwab Banned Vaccinated Pilots From WEF 2023!
Various websites and social media users are claiming that WEF founder Klaus Schwab banned vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos 2023!
Here is one example, which is rather long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
WEF Hires Unvaccinated Pilots To Fly Them Into Davos: “Safety of Our Members Is No. 1 Priority”
Klaus Schwab has banned vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos due to the safety risk they pose.
According to reports, WEF members are being transport solely by unvaccinated pilots to the 2023 conference in Davos, Switzerland.
According to pilot Alan Dana, Davos elites have expressed interest in hiring unvaccinated pilots to fly their business trips.
“He’s getting calls now from wealthy businessmen and companies to fly their executives around on business jets with unvaccinated crew,” Dana said on “Maria Zeee Uncensored” this week.
Infowars.com reports: “They get the luxury of being able to choose, because there are still a large amount of crew available in the United States who are not vaccinated because the companies they work for didn’t mandate it.”
“These wealthy businessmen are requiring unvaccinated crew on their business trips,” Dana added. “Passengers on an airline who bought a ticket don’t have that luxury.”
Two years later, emerging data and increase documented incidents of individuals who “died suddenly” after receiving the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine appear to be making the elite second-guess who flies them around the world.
Truth : Klaus Schwab Did Not Ban Vaccinated Pilots From WEF 2023!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Evidence Vaccinated Pilots Pose Any Safety Risk
This fake news appears to be based around prior claims that vaccinated airline pilots have a high risk of dying suddenly.
It may also be fuelled by the recent baseless allegations that the FAA loosened rules on pilot EKGs because so many of them had heart problems from the COVID-19 vaccines.
In any case, there is no evidence that vaccinated pilots pose any safety risk to their passengers, whether WEF 2023 attendees flying on private jets, or regular passengers on commercial airlines.
Fact #2 : Claim Was Based On Second-Hand Information
While the article claims that there are multiple “reports”, the only source for this claim is an interview with former Jetstar pilot Alan Dana on Maria Zeee Uncensored.
Even so, Alan Dana was relaying second-hand information from someone else – Josh Yoder – the head of US Freedom Flyers – which Infowars peg as “an anti-vaccine mandate group of pilots”.
He’s getting calls now from wealthy businessmen and companies to fly their executives around on business jets with unvaccinated crew.
They get the luxury of being able to choose, because there are still a large amount of crew available in the United States who are not vaccinated because the companies they work for didn’t mandate it.
These wealthy businessmen are requiring unvaccinated crew on their business trips. Passengers on an airline who bought a ticket don’t have that luxury.
Fact #3 : No Evidence Of Vaccinated Pilot Ban At Davos 2023
There is no evidence that Klaus Schwab banned vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos for WEF 2023.
Schwab is merely the founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum, and has no power over air travel policies in Switzerland. It would impossible for him to institute any ban on vaccinated pilot, even if he was so inclined.
And consider this for a moment – how would these ultra-rich WEF attendees prove that their pilots are unvaccinated? Is there an unvaccinated certificate?
Fact #4 : No Evidence WEF Hired Pilots
There is no evidence that the World Economic Forum hired pilots to transport attendees to its 2023 annual meeting.
The World Economic Forum organisation only organises the annual meeting, but does not handle the transportation or accommodation for attendees.
Fact #5 : Most WEF Attendees Do Not Fly By Private Jet
On average, about 3,000 people attend each World Economic Forum annual meeting. While many of the ultra-rich fly by private jet to Davos for World Economic Forum 2023, they are relatively few – less than 150 private jets for the first 3 days.
Most WEF attendees likely flew by commercial airlines to Zurich Airport, or if they are Europeans – took the train as recommended by WEF 2023 organisers. I mention this only because most airlines require their pilots to be fully-vaccinated.
Therefore, it would be rather pointless for Klaus Schwab to ban vaccinated pilots for private jets, when most attendees are being flown into Switzerland by vaccinated pilots on commercial airlines.
Ironically, Josh Yoder himself – the original source – refuted the claim in a tweet on January 15, 2023! He also called for people to unfollow people making such claims!
He stated that he only said that wealthy businessmen reached out to him to look for unvaccinated pilot. He never said that it was WEF or Davos who reached out to him.
He also notably did not say that the unvaccinated were being hired to ferry those rich people to Davos for World Economic Forum 2023.
Click bait journalism is a scourge. I never said that the WEF/Davos has reached out looking for unvaccinated pilots. What I did say was that wealthy businessmen have reached out to me for that purpose. Unfollow anyone spreading this garbage.@USFreedomFlyers @TuckerCarlson
Fact #7 : No Evidence Businessmen Are Looking For Unvaccinated Pilots
Even that less dramatic claim by Josh Yoder is impossible to verify. There is no other source for his claim. Neither has other private jet pilots or companies publicly made similar claims.
It doesn’t help that Yoder himself is known for promoting conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the vaccines.
I should point out that if these ultra-rich individuals are so concerned about COVID-19 vaccines, they would have long sought out unvaccinated pilots to fly their private jets, or engaged private jet companies with unvaccinated pilots.
They wouldn’t be hiring pilots just to fly to the World Economic Forum. There is no specific reason why there is additional risk flying to the WEF, as opposed to any other flight they would normally take.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the FAA admit that pilot EKGs are no longer normal, because the COVID-19 vaccines have damaged their hearts?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : FAA Admitted Pilot EKGs Are Abnormal From COVID-19 Vaccines!
An article by Steve Kirsch has gone viral, claiming that the FAA admitted that pilot EKGs are no longer normal, because the COVID-19 vaccines have damaged the hearts of many pilots?!
Here is an excerpt, which itself is really long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
In the October 2022 version of the FAA Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners, the FAA quietly widened the EKG parameters beyond the normal range (from a PR max of .2 to unlimited). And they didn’t widen the range by a little. They widened it by a lot. It was done after the vaccine rollout.
This is extraordinary. They did it hoping nobody would notice. It worked for a while. Nobody caught it.
But you can’t hide these things for long.
This is a tacit admission from the US government that the COVID vaccine has damaged the hearts of our pilots. Not just a few pilots. A lot of pilots and a lot of damage.
The cardiac harm of course is not limited to pilots.
My best guess right now is that over 50M Americans sustained some amount of heart damage from the shot.
That’s a lot of people who will be very upset when they realize the vaccine they took to reduce their chance of dying from COVID actually worked in reverse making it:
More likely that people will get COVID
Be hospitalized from COVID and other diseases
Die from COVID (and other diseases)
You also have an excellent chance of getting a lifetime of heart damage for no extra charge.
But don’t worry; you can’t sue them. They fixed the law so none of them aren’t liable (the doctors, the drug companies, the government). After all, you took the vaccine of your own free will. It’s not like you were forced (or coerced) to take it or anything like that! And there were plenty of people warning you not to take the shots (even though they censored most of them).
In this article, I will explain the evidence and thinking behind all my claims.
Truth : FAA Did Not Admit Pilot EKGs Are Abnormal From Vaccines!
This is yet another example of MISINFORMATION created and/or propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : EKG = ECG
First, let me quickly clarify that EKG and ECG refer to the same test – electrocardiogram.
EKG is the abbreviation original German spelling (elektrokardiogramm), while ECG is the abbreviation for the English spelling.
Fact #2 : FAA Split 1st Degree AV Block Into Two Categories
On October 26, 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amended its medical policy on Heart Arrhythmias, specifically First-Degree Atrioventricular Block (1st Degree AV Block).
Previously, pilots with first-degree AV block were required to undergo tests and submit documentation to prove that they had “no evidence of structural function or coronary heart disease” to be certified to fly.
The FAA’s amended medical policy now splits pilots with first-degree AV block into two groups:
PR interval of less than 300 ms : certified for flight if no symptoms or Approved Medical Examiner (AME) concerns
PR interval of 300 ms or more : pilots must submit a current Holter and cardiac evaluation to the FAA for review
The claim that the FAA expanded the limit from 0.2 (seconds?) to unlimited is nonsense. There is a hard limit of 300 milliseconds (0.3 seconds) – from that point, the pilot must submit documentation for FAA’s evaluation.
Fact #3 : PR Interval Of Less Than 300 ms Usually Benign
The ECG of a person with a normal heart would generally have a PR interval of between 120 and 200 milliseconds. Anything above that usually indicates an AV block.
However, first-degree AV block is a misnomer – it only delays the electrical signal, it does not block it. Therefore, first-degree AV block often do not present with any noticeable symptoms.
On top of that, no treatment is indicated for people with first-degree AV block if their PR interval is less than 300 milliseconds, because it rarely causes any symptoms.
In an otherwise healthy heart, this is usually a benign condition and rarely causes any symptoms. In general, it does not require specific treatment besides a complete evaluation by a physician.
– Dr. Roland Assi, cardiac surgeon and assistant professor at Yale University
It is not uncommon for people to have such delays. If the [AV] block is less than 300 milliseconds, there is no indication for further therapy nor increased risk or impairment of bodily function
– Dr. Eric Adler, cardiologist and professor of medicine at University of California, San Diego.
Fact #4 : Long PR Interval Not A Vaccine Side Effect
I should point out that longer PR interval is not a COVID-19 vaccine side effect. In fact, a PR interval of less than 300 milliseconds is considered normal in many healthy people, with a PR interval of less than 400 milliseconds normal in healthy athletes.
For reference, in healthy athletes a PR interval <400 msec is considered normal. So, the 300 msec cutoff may be considered conservative in many healthy people.
– Dr. Richard Kovacs, chief medical officer at the America College of Cardiology.
Fact #5 : Change Was Not Made Because Of Vaccine
The FAA has spoken out about the claim, stating that the decision to adjust their policy for first-degree AV block was based on current science and data, and not because pilots were developing heart problems from COVID-19 vaccinations.
When making changes to medical requirements and guidance, the FAA follows standard processes based on data and science.
Our cardiology consultants provided information that anything under 300ms requires no additional testing and is not a risk for sudden or subtle incapacitation.
Fact #6 : FAA Considered Long PR Interval Normal Before COVID-19 Vaccines
The FAA had earlier released a document that said that a first-degree AV block with PR interval between 0.21 and 0.29 seconds is considered normal.
That document was published on 3 July 2019 – more than 5 months before the first COVID-19 outbreak in China, and more than 17 months before the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved!
Fact #6 : American College of Cardiology Approves Of New FAA Guidelines
Dr. Richard Kovacs, chief medical officer at the America College of Cardiology (ACC), said that the updated FAA criteria for widening ECG parameters for first-degree AV block is consistent with ACC guidelines.
The FAA’s updated criteria for widening the ECG parameters regarding AV Block are reasonable and consistent with ACC guideline recommendations.
Fact #7 : FAA Refutes Claims Of Complications From COVID-19 Vaccines
The FAA’s federal air surgeon has also determined that the Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax COVIC-19 vaccines are safe for its pilots and air traffic controllers.
The FAA also refuted claims that COVID-19 vaccines have caused accidents or incapacitation of pilots:
The FAA has no evidence of aircraft accidents or incapacitations caused by pilots suffering medical complications associated with COVID-19 vaccine.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The FTX drama continues as SBF was seen flying business class, while Judge Ronnie Abrams recused herself from the case!
Judge Ronnie Abrams Recuses From SBF FTX Case!
The FTX drama continues with the shocking announcement by US District Judge Ronnie Abrams over a potential conflict of interest.
On Friday afternoon, December 23, Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York recused herself from the FTX case.
The judge’s husband, Greg D. Andres, is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021. Though Andres himself did not personally advise FTX, Abrams chose to recuse herself from the case “to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one.”
The order also stated that Davis Polk & Wardwell previously represented parties “that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried,” though Andres allegedly did not represent those clients either.
RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge:
It has come to the Court’s attention that the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, at which my husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021, as well as represented parties that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried in other proceedings (or potential proceedings). My husband has had no involvement in any of these representations. These matters are confidential and their substance is unknown to the Court. Nonetheless, to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one, the Court hereby recuses itself from this action. See 28
U.S.C. § 455.
This decision came just one day after Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was released from custody pending trial on eight criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violations of federal campaign finance laws.
It is unknown why Judge Ronnie Abrams chose to wait until now to recuse herself from the FTX case. But it should be pointed that it was a different judge – Gabrial Gorenstein, who approved the record-setting $250 million bond that did not require SBF to pay a single cent up front.
A new judge from the Southern District of New York will now have to be selected to oversee Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial.
SBF Free + Flying Business On “No Cash Up Front” FTX Case Bail!
In the meantime, the disgraced FTX co-founder was spotted “chilling” in the American Airlines Greenwich Business Class lounge located at Terminal 8 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City.
Sam Bankman-Fried was accompanied by his parents, FBI agents and lawyers. He had full access to what looks like an Acer Predator gaming laptop, and a smartphone. When he was asked for a photo, SBF replied, “Haha maybe not today“.
You may recall that, on December 9, SBF claimed that he did not have access to (much of) his professional or personal data, despite having obvious access to a laptop and a mobile phone.
1) I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like. But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th.
SBF was later spotted in the Business class section of an American Airlines flight, “disguised with a beanie”. He appeared to be engaged in conversation with a suited executive.
The suited executive could be his lawyer, Mark Cohen, who may have been accompanying the disgraced FTX co-founder to his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, where he has to serve his house arrest while awaiting trial.
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Passengers are no longer required to wear a face mask onboard planes flying to and from Malaysia! Here is what you need to know…
Malaysia : Face Mask No Longer Mandatory On Planes!
On 28 September 2022, the Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin announced that passengers are no longer required to wear a face mask on planes flying to and from Malaysia, except when they are compulsory in destination countries.
With immediate effect (28 September 2022), passengers onboard commercial flights are no longer required to wear a face mask.
This move follows the Ministry’s earlier move to relax face mask requirements in public indoor spaces on 7 September 2022.
Based on the current assessment of the Covid-19 situation and taking into account the latest requirements, the ministry has decided that face masks are no longer mandatory when on board aircraft.
– Khairy Jamaluddin, Malaysia Minister of Health
However, the Malaysia Ministry of Health (KKM) still strongly encourages the use of face masks for these groups of passengers :
individuals with symptoms like fever, cough and flu
high-risk individuals like senior citizens, those with chronic diseases, immunocompromised individuals, pregnant women
those travelling with high-risk individuals like senior citizens and children
In addition, passengers may still be required by the destination country to wear a face mask. So bring along a face mask just in case, even if you prefer not to wear one during your flight.
The requirement to wear a face mask on an aeroplane is still subject to conditions set by the country being visited.
Face Mask No Longer Mandatory On Malaysia Airlines + AirAsia Planes!
Following the Malaysian government’s announcement, both Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia announced the next day that their passengers will no longer be required to wear a face mask, with immediate effect.
Malaysia Airlines
Effective immediately, passengers of Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, MASwings, and AMAL are no longer required to wear face masks onboard, except where compulsory in destination countries.
The relaxation of the face mask mandate follows the Ministry of Health Malaysia’s guideline on 28 September 2022 to remove the mask requirement onboard commercial aircraft.
The use of face masks is however strongly recommended for the following group of passengers:
Passengers with symptoms such as fever, cough and cold.
High-risk passengers such as the elderly, people with chronic diseases.
Passengers with low immunity and pregnant mothers; and
Passengers who travel with high-risk people such as elderly and children.
All MAG airlines are committed to providing a safe and smooth end-to-end travel experience in accordance with its MHFlySafe commitment, allowing customers to fly confidently.
Airline protective measures include:
The cabin air circulation system, where cabin air is refreshed 20-30 times an hour
The use of High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter that can filter 99.9% of airborne contaminants, including viruses and bacteria.
Frequent aircraft cleaning disinfection following guidelines prescribed by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and the World Health Organization
Aircrafts are operated by fully vaccinated pilots and cabin crew.
AirAsia
Following the announcement by the Malaysian government that face masks are no longer mandatory on flights, AirAsia Malaysia (AK) has exempted the use of face masks on its flights effective immediately.
The use of face masks on board flights is optional for AirAsia Malaysia (AK) guests, unless they are travelling to or from destinations that require a face mask. Guests who wish to wear a face mask on board may continue to do so.
As safety is our highest priority, AirAsia will continue to operate with the strictest safety standards. All our aircraft are equipped with powerful HEPA filters that remove 99.99% of dust particles and airborne contaminants including viruses and bacteria. The cabin air is completely refreshed every three minutes to ensure the highest possible quality of air throughout your flight.
We will continue to update the guidelines on the use of face masks on board for all other markets that we operate in as we return to the skies.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Flights in and out of Beijing are now back to normal, dealing yet another blow to rumours of a military coup in China!
Claim : Beijing Flights Were Cancelled By Coup In China!
The Internet has been abuzz for days with claims that there is a military coup underway in China, after over 6,000 domestic and international flights in and out of Beijing were just cancelled!
On top of that, about 60% of flights (about 9,583 flights) were cancelled across China on Wednesday, 21 September 2022.
Beijing Capital International Airport canceled 622 flights, with a 60% cancellation rate.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport had 652 cancelations of flights, with a 54% cancellation rate
Shenzhen Baoan Airport’s 542 flights were canceled, with a 51% cancellation rate
Guiyang Longdongbao Airport (Guizhou Province): 539 flights canceled, with a 99% cancellation rate
Lhasa Gongga Airport (Tibet): 157 flights canceled, with a 98% cancellation rate
Chengdu Tianfu Airport (Sichuan Province): 752 flights canceled, with a 87% cancellation rate
Urumqi Diwobao Airport (Xinjiang): 476 flights; with a 79% cancellation rate
Tianjin Binhai International Airport (about 84 miles east of Beijing): 353 flights; with a 74% cancellation rate
Harbin Taiping Airport (Heilongjiang Province): 275 flights canceled; with a 56% cancellation rate
Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (Shaanxi Province): 555 flights canceled; with a 56% cancellation rate
Nanjing Lukou International Airport (Jiangsu Province): 378 flights canceled; with a 54% cancellation rate
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (Guangdong Province): 560 flights canceled, with a 40% cancellation rate
The number of flights to and from Beijing continued to decline from Wednesday until Saturday.
Although flights in and out of Beijing continued to be few through the weekend, it was soon restored by Monday, 26 September 2022.
The flight tracking site flightradar24 now shows air traffic back to normal at the Beijing Capital International Airport, and the Beijing Daxing International Airport.
Other airports across China were also operating as normal, with no mass cancellations that we saw earlier.
There has been no official word on why so many flights were cancelled, but flight cancellations are rather common in China. This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, when flights have been grounded with little or no warning.
While most of the world is relaxing COVID-19 measures and opening up, China is still persisting with its Zero COVID policy. Hence, it is certainly possible that those flights are being cancelled to protect Beijing from COVID-19 outbreaks / surges in other parts of China.
The Beijing Capital International Airport, incidentally, regularly ranks as one of the airports with the most cancellations in the world.
The Chinese news portal Netease said that the cancellations were mainly due to the recent COVID-19 surges in multiple provinces in China, which makes quite a lot of sense.
Beijing is preparing to host 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on 16 October 2022.
This is a major twice-a-decade meeting for the CCP, and one in which President Xi Jinping is expected to be re-elected as General Secretary for an unprecedented third term.
While the 20th National Congress is really just a rubber-stamp event, it is critical for President Xi that his Zero COVID policy is seen to work. Hence, it is critical that Beijing has no COVID-19 outbreak at that time.
This mass cancellation of flights must be a military directive. Air traffic control authority is decided by the Chinese military, which in turn gives instructions to civil aviation management. The airspace is set aside so that military aircraft can fly at will. This is military planning, or at least with military prep.
However, these “evidence” of a coup in China have not withstood serious analysis.
There is no evidence of an 80 km-long military convoy entering Beijing.
The viral video shows a minute or so of several military vehicles travelling on a highway, nothing more.
There is no evidence of any lockdown of Beijing, which would certainly occur during a military coup.
While there was a large number of cancelled flights in Beijing airports, quite a number of commercial flights were still allowed to fly in and out.
Airports in the rest of China were generally functioning normally, even though there were some cancelled flights.
Flight cancellation is pretty common in China, especially when it comes to COVID-19 mitigation.
Commercial air traffic in and out of Beijing was restored by Monday, 26 September 2022.
Xi Jinping issued two letters a day after he was supposedly under house arrest after being overthrown.
Sun Lijun and his anti-Xi Jinping “political clique” were sentenced to long jail sentences.
CCP delegates were “elected” as expected, together with Xi Jinping himself.
CCP mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, reaffirmed Xi Jinping as the party’s “core”.
To top it off, the CCP is continuing its business as usual, firming up support for Xi Jinping’s third term at the upcoming CCP Congress.
The People’s Daily editorial seals the case for Xi Jinping’s toppling in a military coup. That was nothing more than the wishful thinking of netizens who despise him, fuelled by unverified claims.
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Are thousands of flights into and out of Beijing being cancelled because a military coup is underway?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Beijing Flights Are Getting Cancelled By Military Coup!
The Internet is abuzz with claims that there is a military coup underway in China, with an 80 km military convoy heading for Beijing!
Many also believe that this was evidence of a military coup in China – over 6,000 domestic and international flights into and out of Beijing were just cancelled!
On top of that, about 60% of flights (about 9,583 flights) were cancelled across China on Wednesday, 21 September 2022.
Beijing Capital International Airport canceled 622 flights, with a 60% cancellation rate.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport had 652 cancelations of flights, with a 54% cancellation rate
Shenzhen Baoan Airport’s 542 flights were canceled, with a 51% cancellation rate
Guiyang Longdongbao Airport (Guizhou Province): 539 flights canceled, with a 99% cancellation rate
Lhasa Gongga Airport (Tibet): 157 flights canceled, with a 98% cancellation rate
Chengdu Tianfu Airport (Sichuan Province): 752 flights canceled, with a 87% cancellation rate
Urumqi Diwobao Airport (Xinjiang): 476 flights; with a 79% cancellation rate
Tianjin Binhai International Airport (about 84 miles east of Beijing): 353 flights; with a 74% cancellation rate
Harbin Taiping Airport (Heilongjiang Province): 275 flights canceled; with a 56% cancellation rate
Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (Shaanxi Province): 555 flights canceled; with a 56% cancellation rate
Nanjing Lukou International Airport (Jiangsu Province): 378 flights canceled; with a 54% cancellation rate
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (Guangdong Province): 560 flights canceled, with a 40% cancellation rate
The number of flights to and from Beijing continue to decline from Wednesday until Saturday.
Truth : Beijing Flights Are NOT Getting Cancelled By Military Coup!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS that started as a rumour, but was used to generate page views for rumour / fake news websites.
Here are the reasons why… and what we know so far!
Fact #1 : Flights Are Being Cancelled In Beijing
First, let me confirm that the claims of mass flight cancellations into or out of Beijing are correct.
The flight tracking site flightradar24, for example, shows that the Beijing Capital International Airport and the Beijing Daxing International Airport have more or less come to a standstill with very few flights taking off, or landing.
Fact #2 : Some Flights Continue In + Out Of Beijing
While many scheduled flights at the airports either have a Cancelled status, or listed as Unknown, there continue to be some flights flying in and out of both airports.
It was not a total lockdown of the airspace around Beijing, as some have claimed. This would suggest that a military coup is not underway.
Fact #3 : Other Chinese Airports Are Operating Normally
According to flightradar24, other major airports in China, like the Shanghai and Hong Kong airports, appear to be operating normally, although some flights have been cancelled.
It seems rather unlikely that coup plotters would allow airports to continue operating while trying to take over the country.
Fact #4 : Flight Cancellations Are Common In China
There has been no official word on why so many flights were cancelled, but flight cancellations are rather common in China. This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, when flights have been grounded with little or no warning.
While most of the world is relaxing COVID-19 measures and opening up, China is still persisting with its Zero COVID policy. Hence, it is certainly possible that those flights are being cancelled to protect Beijing from COVID-19 outbreaks / surges in other parts of China.
The Beijing Capital International Airport, incidentally, regularly ranks as one of the airports with the most cancellations in the world.
Fact #5 : Cancellations Could Possibly Be Due To COVID-19
The Chinese news portal Netease said that the cancellations were mainly due to the recent COVID-19 surges in multiple provinces in China, which makes quite a lot of sense.
Beijing is preparing to host 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on 16 October 2022.
This is a major twice-a-decade meeting for the CCP, and one in which President Xi Jinping is expected to be re-elected as General Secretary for an unprecedented third term.
While the 20th National Congress is really just a rubber-stamp event, it is critical for President Xi that his Zero COVID policy is seen to work. Hence, it is critical that Beijing has no COVID-19 outbreak at that time.
This mass cancellation of flights must be a military directive. Air traffic control authority is decided by the Chinese military, which in turn gives instructions to civil aviation management. The airspace is set aside so that military aircraft can fly at will. This is military planning, or at least with military prep.
Fact #7 : No Evidence Of Military Coup In China
Outside of these flight cancellations and an 80 km military convoy, there really isn’t any actual evidence of a military coup in China.
If a military coup did occur, Beijing would be under martial law, with no flights allowed in and out. That would include a lockdown or curfew with military roadblocks all over Beijing and the rest of China.
These are all “noisy” actions that would be clearly visible, not only to the Chinese public but the entire world as well, especially in a time of smartphones and social media.
Yet, there was no mention of anything remotely close to a military coup of any kind, in any mainstream media or social media, either inside or outside of China.
It may be possible to keep a lid on such a major event in North Korea – the hermit kingdom, but not in China. Not even with the Great Firewall (防火长城).
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Are the US and Western countries sending infected birds to spread monkeypox to China and other Asian countries?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : US Is Sending Infected Birds To Spread Monkeypox!
The Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP (Chinese Communist Party) netizens are now claiming that the US and Western countries are sending infected birds to spread monkeypox to China and other Asian countries.
Hey, guys. No matter where you are, if you see a bird that can’t fly, can’t walk or struggle on the ground, you should never catch it, for fear of monkeypox infection. The relevant community has informed you, please pay attention to it. Remember!
The United States and Western countries used the birds to carry take the Monkeypox virus to spread to the Asian region!
My sister sent it from Germany and asked me to inform family and friends immediately. Have relatives and friends on the notice, do not because of compassion, get infected unknowingly.
Truth : No One Is Sending Infected Birds To Spread Monkeypox!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and shared by pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : The West Is Not Sending Infected Birds To Spread Monkeypox
Just like their insects attack claim, the wumao are falsely blaming the West for sending birds to spread monkeypox.
This is utter nonsense, and nothing more than Chinese propaganda. It is also not very believable propaganda at that, and I will show you why.
Fact #2 : Monkeypox Not Known To Infect Birds
Birds have, so far, not been found to be infected with the monkeypox virus, or any other orthopoxviruses. So it would be absurd for anyone to suggest birds being used as a vector for spreading monkeypox.
The monkeypox virus mostly infects mammals like apes, monkeys, squirrels, shrews, chinchillas, anteaters, hedgehogs, prairie dogs… and yes, human beings. But not birds.
Fact #3 : Most Monkeypox Cases Are In The West!
It is absurd to claim that the West is intentionally spreading monkeypox to China and other Asian countries.
If they were, well, they are doing a piss-poor job of it, because nine of the top 10 countries with monkeypox cases are Western countries!
Fact #4 : Current Outbreak Spreading Human-to-Human
In the 2022 monkeypox outbreak, the disease is being spread from human-to-human, not from birds to humans.
The global spread occurs through air travel – infected people travelling overseas, and infecting other people at those destinations.
Many of the cases have also been traced to men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners.
This does not mean that monkeypox is a sexually-transmitted disease (STD). It is not spread through sexual activities, but through skin-to-skin contact between an infected person and other people.
Fact #5 : It Is Difficult To Train Birds
While pigeons can be trained to carry messages between two points, it is not easy to train them.
For one thing – you need to repeatedly transport the pigeons and feed them at both the origin location, and the destination, until they can fly between the two locations independently.
Only pigeons have been trained reliably this way. Other birds lack the pigeon’s ability to navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field (magnetoreception), or its ease of training.
Even if the US and other Western countries want to use pigeons to infect China and other Asian countries with monkeypox, they would need to repeatedly bring the pigeons over to the target countries and back. Do you think such activity would not catch the attention of the authorities at those countries?
Without such training, the birds will simply fly wherever they want to, and not where the Americans / Westerners want them to.
It would be much easier to just fly someone infected with monkeypox to China, and give everyone there a big hug…. which is why this fake story is so stupid!
The bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) holds the world’s record for flying over 12,000 kilometres for 11 days straight without stopping. However, most birds just don’t fly very far.
Even homing pigeons can only fly for about 1,200 km a day, which is pretty darn far… until you realise that the distance between the US and China is some 11,640 kilometres!
Only the bar-tailed godwit is capable of making that flight. The homing pigeon can only travel 10% of the way across the mighty Pacific Ocean.
Fact #7 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda
This is really nothing more than yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).
All of the wumao articles that I looked at so far have proven to be false… at every instance. So please watch out for such false claims.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Here are the LATEST COVID-19 requirements and SOP for those plan to travel by air to Malaysia!
Updated @ 2022-07-03 : Malaysian citizens are no longer required to register for Traveller’s Pass.
Updated @ 2022-06-13 : Added the current COVID-19 vaccination requirements Originally posted @ 2022-04-28
Malaysia Air Travel : Current COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements
Currently, travellers to Malaysia must provide documentation that they have completed a full regimen of a COVID-19 vaccine recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), or by a stringent regulatory authority in the country of origin.
There are additional requirements on COVID-19 vaccination for travellers :
Those aged 60 years and above are required to receive a booster dose.
Those received two doses of Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccine, regardless of age, must receive a third dose (of any vaccine) to qualify as fully-vaccinated.
The definition of a full regimen of a COVID-19 vaccine includes the number of doses required to provide the full vaccine protection, as well as the time needed to achieve protection against COVID-19.
Currently, that means 14 days after the second dose of a two (2) dose vaccine, or 14 days after a one (1) dose vaccine. In the case of Sinopharm / Sinovac vaccine recipients, that would mean 14 days after the third dose.
You are also considered fully-vaccinated immediately after receiving your booster dose.
Please make sure you submit your vaccination information through the Travellers option in MySejahtera, before your flight to Malaysia.
After submitting your COVID-19 vaccination details, you will receive a Travellers digital card, which allows you entry into Malaysia on arrival.
Malaysia Air Travel Test + Quarantine Rules From 1 May 2022!
On 27 April 2022, the Malaysia Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin announced new test and quarantine rules for travellers flying to Malaysia.
These COVID-19 test and quarantine rules take effect from Sunday, 1 May 2022 onwards!
A. Children 12 Years Or Younger : No Test, No Quarantine!
Irrespective of their vaccination status, children who are 12 years old or younger do NOT need to :
undergo pre-departure test
undergo on-arrival test, or
undergo HSO quarantine
B. Fully-Vaccinated 13 Years Or Older : No Test, No Quarantine!
Fully-vaccinated adolescents and adults who are 13 years or older do NOT need to :
undergo pre-departure test
undergo on-arrival test, or
undergo HSO quarantine
C. Partially-Vaccinated / Unvaccinated 13-17 Years Old : No Quarantine!
Adolescents who are 13-17 years old, and are partially vaccinated or unvaccinated do NOT need to undergo HSO quarantine on arrival in Malaysia.
However, they will need to undergo :
a PCR test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia, and
a supervised RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
D. Vaccinated Adults : No Test, No Quarantine!
Fully-vaccinated adults (18 years and older), with or without a booster dose, do NOT need to :
undergo pre-departure test
undergo on-arrival test, or
undergo HSO quarantine
E. Unvaccinated with Medical Exemption : No Quarantine!
Unvaccinated individuals with a medical exemption will be allowed, on a case-by-case basis, to travel to Malaysia without a mandatory quarantine.
However, they must undergo :
a PCR test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia, and
a professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
F. Unvaccinated Adults : 5 Day Quarantine
Adult travellers (18 years and older) who are partially-vaccinated, or completely unvaccinated, must :
undergo a 5-day mandatory quarantine on arrival in Malaysia, and
undergo a PCR test on Day 4, or a professional RTK-Ag test on Day 5.
Travellers who are exempt from vaccination for health reasons must upload the evidence of medical exemption into the MySejahtera app.
G. Unvaccinated + Post COVID-19 : 5 Day Quarantine
Unvaccinated individuals who recovered from COVID-19 (infected in the last 6-60 days) must:
undergo a 5-day mandatory quarantine on arrival in Malaysia, and
undergo a PCR test on Day 4, or a professional RTK-Ag test on Day 5.
If they were not hospitalised, they must undergo :
a professional RTK-Ag test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia, and
a professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
If they were hospitalised, they can use a Fit To Travel letter from the hospital.
Latest Malaysia Air Travel Procedure From 4 July 2022!
On 27 April 2022, the Malaysia Ministry of Health issued the official procedure for travellers who arrive by air, that will take effect from 1 May 2022 onwards.
Download the MySejahtera app, and register for your MySejahtera account. *
Click on the Traveller icon in MySejahtera, and complete the pre-departure form
a) fully-vaccinated travellers will receive a Digital Traveller’s Card *
b) partially vaccinated / unvaccinated travellers will receive a Digital Home Surveillance Order (HSO).
All unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travellers 13 years and above must undergo a PCR test 2 days before departure.
Those who had a previous COVID-19 infection (within 6-60 days before departure) must undergo a professional RTK-Ag test 2 days before departure, or alternatively, have a Free-To-Travel letter if they were hospitalised for COVID-19 during that time.
You do NOT need to purchase travel and COVID-19 insurance.
All partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers 13 years and above must undergo a supervised RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
a) this supervised RTK-Ag test can be performed at any health facility of your choice, or virtually
b) COVID-19 breathalyser / professional RTK-Ag tests are available at the airport
c) Cost of on-arrival RTK-Ag test must be borne by the travellers.
Children below the age of 13, and travellers from Singapore are exempted from the on-arrival test.
Partially-vaccinated / unvaccinated travellers must undergo a mandatory 5-day quarantine.
IMPORTANT : Travellers transiting through Malaysian international airports to Sabah or Sarawak must undergo professional RTK-Ag at the airport, before departing.
Testing Positive On Arrival
If you test positive on arrival, you must undergo a mandatory HSO quarantine of 7 days.
You can opt for the new Day 4 test and release procedure, by undertaking a supervised RTK-Ag test on Day 4 of your quarantine.
If you test negative, you are allowed to immediately terminate your quarantine.
If you test positive, you must complete your 7-day quarantine
If you are a partially vaccinated / unvaccinated traveller, you will need to undergo a 5-day quarantine, and get tested on Day 4 (PCR) or Day 5 (RTK-Ag).
If you test positive on Day 4 or Day 5, your quarantine will get extended for 5 more days.
Malaysia Air Travel Test + Quarantine SOP : Summary
To make it easier to compare the myriad air travel requirements to Malaysia, I created this table to summarise the key requirements.
Vaccination Status
Pre-Departure
On Arrival
Additional Test or Quarantine
Child (< 13 Years) *
No Test Required
No Test
No Quarantine
Fully Vaccinated (≥ 13 Years)
Partially-Vaccinated or
Unvaccinated (13-17 Years)
PCR test
within 2 days
Supervised
RTK-Ag
within 24 hours
of arrival
On-Arrival
Professional
RTK-Ag
for travellers
transiting to
Sabah or
Sarawak
Not Vaccinated with
Medical Exemption
Partially Vaccinated or
Unvaccinated (≥18 Years)
5-Day Quarantine
with
Day 4 PCR or
Day 5 RTK
Partially Vaccinated
or Unvaccinated + Post-COVID-19
(6-60 Days)
Professional
RTK-Ag
within 2 days
or FTT letter **
if hospitalised
* By year of birth
** Also professional RTK-Ag if recovered from COVID-19 infection 6-60 days before departure
*** FTT = Fit To Travel
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
You can now fly to the United States without taking any COVID-19 test!
Here is what you need to know!
You Can Now Fly To United States Without COVID-19 Test!
17 months ago, the US CDC issued an order requiring all travellers to present a negative COVID-19 test before they can fly to the United States, or present documentation of recovery from COVID-19.
US CDC Director Rochelle Walensky just rescinded that order for all aircraft departing their point of origin on or after Sunday, June 12, 2022, at 12:01 AM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time).
I have concluded that continuation of the Order is not currently necessary. There being no operation need to delay implementation of this rescission for more than a short period of time, it shall take effect for all aircraft departing from their point of origin on or after Sunday, June 12, 2022, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
That said, the US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra, said that this decision is based on “science and available data”, and warned that it may be reinstated if things change :
The CDC continues to recommend COVID-19 testing prior to air travel of any kind and will not hesitate to reinstate a pre-departure testing requirement, if needed later. Ensuring the safety and well-being of Americans is a top priority.
Current Requirements Before You Fly To United States
This order restores travel requirements to what it was before the pandemic – you will no longer be required to undergo a COVID-19 test, or show proof of COVID-19 recovery, before you fly to the United States.
However, the CDC still recommends that travellers get tested before and after travel, or after known exposure to someone with COVID-19.
They also recommend that travellers “remain up to date with vaccination against COVID-19“, and “wear masks in indoor public transportation settings“.
However, airlines may impose their own requirements, so please make sure you check with your airlines too!
American Citizens / Permanent Residents
The CDC recommendation to be up to date with your COVID-19 vaccination is no longer mandatory for American citizens.
Foreigners
For foreign travellers, you can fly to the United States without a negative COVID-19 test.
However, the CDC still requires foreigners to be fully-vaccinated before they can fly to the United States. A booster dose is not required.
Only selected foreigners may receive an exemption to this CDC requirement :
Persons on diplomatic or official foreign government travel
Children under 18 years of age
Persons with documented medical contraindications to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine
Participants in certain COVID-19 vaccine trials
Persons issued a humanitarian or emergency exception
Persons with valid visas [excluding B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourism) visas] who are citizens of a foreign country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability (See list for updates that will be effective June 28, 2022)
Members of the U.S. Armed Forces or their spouses or children (under 18 years of age)
Sea crew members traveling with to a C-1 and D nonimmigrant visa
Persons whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security (or their designees)
But note that if you qualify for the exemption, you may be required to :
get tested for COVID-19 within 3-5 days of arrival in the United States, and
self-quarantine for 5 days, even if you test negative in the post-arrival test (unless you have documentation of recovering from COVID-19 in the past 90 days), and
self-isolate if you test positive in the post-arrival test, or develop COVID-19 symptoms
get vaccinated against COVID-19 if you intend to stay in the United States for longer than 60 days
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
You will not longer be required to wear a face mask, or physically distance, during air travel to and from EU countries!
Here is what you need to know…
EU Air Travel : Face Mask + Physical Distancing Not Required!
On 11 May 2022, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued a joint statement, dropping their recommendation for the mandatory wearing of a face mask as well as physical distancing in airports and on flights.
From Monday, 16 May 2022 onwards, you will no longer be required to wear a face mask at airports, or onboard a flight across the European Union.
However, travellers with respiratory symptoms (coughing or sneezing) are strongly recommended to wear a face mask.
Airports are also no longer required to strictly implement physical distancing. Rather, they should adopt “a pragmatic approach”, and avoid imposing distancing requirements if they “will likely lead to a bottleneck”.
Airport operators are also not required to impose physical distancing if they are “not required at national or regional level”.
That said, they are still asking airport operators to encourage physical distancing where possible, particularly in the meet and greet areas and around baggage carousels.
Face Mask + Physical Distancing Not Required In EU, But Still Recommended!
While the EU will no longer require you to wear a face mask, or impose strict physical distancing during air travel, they are both still highly recommended to prevent COVID-19.
Here are selected excerpts from the latest EASA and ECDC guidelines (PDF) for air travel in the European Union :
Medical Face Masks
Medical face masks (hereafter referred to also as ‘face masks’) are among the most efficient means to prevent the transmission of SARS-COV-2 including existing VOCs. As such, the wearing of masks should be considered in crowded indoor and outdoor settings, including air travel.
If the departure or destination States require wearing of face masks in public transport, aircraft operators should require passengers and crew to wear a face mask beyond 16 May 2022.
In other cases, starting 16 May 2022, aircraft and aerodrome operators should continue to encourage passengers and crew members, as part of their pre-flight communications as well as during travel through signage and announcements, to wear a face mask during flight as well as in the airport as a way to protect themselves and others and that they should respect others’ decision to wear or to not wear a mask.
In their communication, operators should highlight that people at high risk for severe COVID-19 are advised to wear an FFP2 respirator mask during the flight for their own protection. Experimental studies indicate that respirators are more effective than medical face masks both in limiting the release of infectious respiratory droplets when worn by the infectious source and in limiting the exposure when worn by the exposed person.
People with respiratory symptoms (coughing or sneezing) are strongly recommended to wear a medical face mask irrespective of the requirements on that particular flight.
Physical Distancing
Physical distancing, alongside the proper wearing of face masks, has proven among the most effective non-pharmaceutical interventions to prevent SARS-CoV-2 (including VOCs) transmission. Physical distancing should be encouraged in all airport areas, the arrival terminal (with a particular focus for the meet and greet area) and around the baggage carousels. Signage and communication material should continue to encourage physical distancing where possible.
However, implementation experience has shown that in some cases, strict physical distancing measures in the aviation environment (airport and aircraft) is not operationally feasible and creates additional unintended bottlenecks in other areas, increasing the exposure times and leading to operational delays touching the flight time limitation requirements and, consequently, flight safety. Physical distancing could therefore be added to the use of face masks where operationally feasible and where it does not result in additional crowding in other areas. If physical distancing measures cannot be implemented, the use of face masks should be encouraged for passengers.
PPE For Airline / Airport Crew + Staff
Airport operators, aircraft operators and service providers/suppliers should provide the necessary PPE to their staff members and ensure that they are trained in its appropriate use:
— Staff members who interact with passengers directly (e.g. cabin crew members, security check agents, assistants for passengers with reduced mobility, cleaning staff, etc.) should be encouraged to properly wear a medical face mask or, where available and the legal framework permits, a higher-standard face mask (e.g. FFP2/N95/KN95 respirators).
— Staff should be encouraged to practise respiratory hygiene at all times as well as frequent hand hygiene, either via appropriate hand-washing or by applying an alcohol-based hand disinfectant. The use of a protective gown or a one-use plastic apron can be considered for tasks that may expose staff to splashes.
— Flight crew members should be encouraged to wear a face mask whenever interacting with, or in the proximity of, other people. Once they are in the flight compartment and the door is closed, flight crew members may remove their masks subject to their operator’s policy and mutual agreement. Furthermore, the flight’s crew members should remove their masks for emergency situations and whenever requested by appropriate authorities for official purposes such as identification or alcohol testing.
— Aircraft operators should have on board one or more Universal Precaution Kits (UPKs. Such kits should be used by crew members who are assisting passengers with COVID-
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Here are the LATEST air travel procedures and SOP for those who are flying to Malaysia!
Updated @ 2022-04-12 : Added RTK-Ag option for Singaporean travellers, RTK-Ag testing requirement for transit to Sabah / Sarawak, and other updates Updated @ 2022-03-31 : Added new updates to the air travel procedures Updated @ 2022-03-25 : Added the air travel procedures Originally posted @ 2022-01-24
Malaysia Air Travel Test + Quarantine SOP From 1 April 2022!
On 9 March 2022, the Malaysia Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, announced that new quarantine rules for travellers to Malaysia.
These COVID-19 test and quarantine rules take effect from Friday, 1 April 2022 onwards.
But there have been a few updates, so check the latest requirements below!
A. Travellers Undergoing Quarantine : Immediate Release!
For travellers who started undergoing quarantine prior to 1 April 2022, their quarantine orders will be rescinded on 1 April 2022.
They will no longer be under quarantine on 1 April 2022, irrespective of when they started their quarantine.
B. Children + Teenagers : No Quarantine!
Children and teenagers who are 17 years old or younger do NOT need to undergo quarantine, irrespective of their vaccination status.
Only children and teenagers 7-17 years old need to undergo :
a PCR test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia, and
a professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
Children who are less than 7 years old do not need to undergo any PCR test before departure, or after arrival in Malaysia.
C. Travellers From Singapore : No Quarantine!
Travellers from Singapore do NOT need to undergo quarantine, irrespective of their vaccination status. However, travellers 7 years and older age need to undergo :
a PCR or professional RTK-Ag test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia
Children who are less than 7 years old do not need to undergo any PCR or RTK-Ag test before departure.
And all travellers from Singapore are exempt from testing after arrival in Malaysia.
D. Vaccinated Adults : No Quarantine!
Fully-vaccinated adults (18 years and older), with or without a booster dose, do NOT need to undergo quarantine on arrival in Malaysia. However, they must undergo :
a PCR test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia, and
a professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
E. Vaccinated + Post COVID-19 : No Quarantine!
Fully-vaccinated individuals who recovered from COVID-19 (infected in the last 6-60 days) do NOT need to undergo quarantine on arrival in Malaysia.
However, if they were not hospitalised, they must undergo :
a professional RTK-Ag test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia, and
a professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
If they were hospitalised, they can use a Fit To Travel letter from the hospital.
F. Unvaccinated with Medical Exemption : No Quarantine!
Unvaccinated individuals with a medical exemption will be allowed, on a case-by-case basis, to travel to Malaysia without a mandatory quarantine.
However, they must undergo :
a PCR test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia, and
a professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
G. Unvaccinated Adults : 5 Day Quarantine
Adult travellers (18 years and older) who are not fully-vaccinated, or completely unvaccinated, must :
undergo a 5-day mandatory quarantine on arrival in Malaysia, and
undergo a PCR test on Day 4, or a professional RTK-Ag test on Day 5.
After completing their quarantine, these travellers must comply with existing restrictions on individuals who lack the Fully Vaccinated status in Malaysia. For example, they will not be able to dine-in at restaurants.
Travellers who are exempt from vaccination for health reasons must upload the evidence of medical exemption into the MySejahtera app.
H. Unvaccinated + Post COVID-19 : 5 Day Quarantine
Unvaccinated individuals who recovered from COVID-19 (infected in the last 6-60 days) must:
undergo a 5-day mandatory quarantine on arrival in Malaysia, and
undergo a PCR test on Day 4, or a professional RTK-Ag test on Day 5.
If they were not hospitalised, they must undergo :
a professional RTK-Ag test within 48 hours before departure to Malaysia, and
a professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
If they were hospitalised, they can use a Fit To Travel letter from the hospital.
Latest Malaysia Air Travel Procedure From 1 April 2022!
On 24 March 2022, the Malaysia Ministry of Health issued the official procedure for travellers who arrive by air, that will take effect from 1 April 2022 onwards.
Before Departure
Download the MySejahtera app, and register for your MySejahtera account.
Click on the Traveller icon in MySejahtera, and complete the pre-departure form
a) fully-vaccinated travellers will receive a Digital Traveller’s Card
b) partially vaccinated / unvaccinated travellers will receive a Digital Home Surveillance Order (HSO).
All travellers 7 years and above must undergo a PCR test 2 days before departure.
Travellers from Singapore can opt for either a PCR test or a professional RTK-Ag test 2 days before departure.
Those who had a previous COVID-19 infection (within 6-60 days before departure) must undergo a professional RTK-Ag test 2 days before departure, or alternatively, have a Free-To-Travel letter if they were hospitalised for COVID-19 during that time.
Non-Malaysian citizens (except Singaporean citizens) must purchase travel and COVID-19 insurance worth at least US$20,000.
Partially-vaccinated or unvaccinated Singaporean citizens must purchase travel and COVID-19 insurance worth at least US$20,000.
On Arrival
All travellers 7 years and above must undergo a professional RTK-Ag test within 24 hours of arrival in Malaysia.
a) this professional RTK-Ag test can be performed at any health facility of your choice
b) COVID-19 breathalyser / professional RTK-Ag tests are available at the airport
c) Cost of on-arrival RTK-Ag test must be borne by the travellers.
Children below the age of 7, and travellers from Singapore are exempted from the on-arrival test.
Partially-vaccinated / unvaccinated travellers must undergo a mandatory 5-day quarantine.
IMPORTANT : Travellers transiting through Malaysian international airports to Sabah or Sarawak must undergo professional RTK-Ag at the airport, before departing.
Testing Positive On Arrival
If you test positive on arrival, you must undergo a mandatory quarantine of :
Fully vaccinated : 7 days
Partially vaccinated / unvaccinated : 10 days
Testing Positive During Quarantine
If you are a partially vaccinated / unvaccinated traveller, you will need to undergo a 5-day quarantine, and get tested on Day 4 (PCR) or Day 5 (RTK-Ag).
If you test positive on Day 4 or Day 5, your quarantine will get extended for 5 more days.
Malaysia Air Travel Test + Quarantine SOP : Summary
To make it easier to compare the myriad air travel requirements to Malaysia, I created this table to summarise the key requirements.
Vaccination Status
Pre-Departure
On Arrival
Additional Test or Quarantine
Child (< 7 Years) *
No Test Required
No Test
No Quarantine
Travellers From
Singapore
PCR test or
professional
RTK-Ag **
within 2 days
No Test Required
Boosted (≥18 Years)
PCR test
within 2 days
Professional
RTK-Ag
within 24 hours
of arrival On-Arrival
Professional
RTK-Ag
for travellers
transiting to
Sabah or
Sarawak
Fully Vaccinated
Fully Vaccinated
+ Post-COVID-19
(6-60 Days)
Professional
RTK-Ag
within 2 days
or FTT letter **
if hospitalised
Children / Teenagers
(7-17 Years)
PCR test
within 2 days
Not Vaccinated with
Medical Exemption
Partially Vaccinated
or Unvaccinated
Day 4 PCR or
Day 5 RTK 5-Day Quarantine
Partially Vaccinated
or Unvaccinated + Post-COVID-19
(6-60 Days)
Professional
RTK-Ag
within 2 days
or FTT letter **
if hospitalised
* By year of birth
** Also professional RTK-Ag if recovered from COVID-19 infection 6-60 days before departure
*** FTT = Fit To Travel
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
A. Fully-Vaccinated with Booster Dose / Unaccompanied Teenager
New Quarantine Period : 5 Days
Travellers who are fully-vaccinated and received the booster dose, or teenagers travelling without an adult escort are now allowed to undergo a short quarantine of just 5 days.
They will need to undergo three screening tests during the 5-day mandatory quarantine :
RT-PCR test within 2 days prior to departure, with a negative test result
RT-PCR test on the day of arrival
RT-PCR test on Day 4, or
RTK-Ag test that is supervised by a healthcare worker on Day 5
They will be released from quarantine only on Day 5, if they test negative on their RT-PCR test on Day 4, or the RTK-Ag test on Day 5.
B. Fully-Vaccinated without Booster Dose
New Quarantine Period : 7 Days
Travellers to Malaysia who are fully-vaccinated, but did not receive the booster dose, will be required to undergo a mandatory quarantine of 7 days.
They will also need to undergo three screening tests during the 7-day mandatory quarantine :
RT-PCR test within 2 days prior to departure, with a negative test result
RT-PCR test on the day of arrival
RT-PCR test on Day 5, or
RTK-Ag test that is supervised by a healthcare worker on Day 7
They will be released from quarantine only on Day 7, if they test negative on their RT-PCR test on Day 5, or the RTK-Ag test on Day 7.
C. Unvaccinated or Not Fully Vaccinated
New Quarantine Period : 10 Days
Travellers to Malaysia who are not fully-vaccinated or unvaccinated, will be required to undergo a mandatory quarantine of 10 days.
They will also need to undergo three screening tests during the 10-day mandatory quarantine :
RT-PCR test within 2 days prior to departure, with a negative test result
RT-PCR test on the day of arrival
RT-PCR test on Day 8, or
RTK-Ag test that is supervised by a healthcare worker on Day 10
They will be released from quarantine only on Day 10, if they test negative on their RT-PCR test on Day 8, or the RTK-Ag test on Day 10.
D. Travellers With Recent COVID-19 Infection
Travellers who recently recovered from COVID-19 infection are NOT required to undergo a mandatory quarantine, subject to these requirements :
must be fully-vaccinated, with proof of vaccination
proof of COVID-19 infection within 11-60 days prior to departure, using printed or digital test results
travellers with history of hospitalisation from COVID-19 must produce a “Fit to Travel” letter from the hospital
travellers who were not hospitalised must undergo a professional RTK-Ag test two days before departure, and are only allowed to fly with a negative test result
Travellers who recovered from a COVID-19 infection but are not fully vaccinated, or unvaccinated, must undergo a mandatory 7-day quarantine.
Malaysia Travel Test + Quarantine SOP : Current Summary
To make it easier to compare the three categories, I created this table to summarise their key features.
Note : Even with a negative test result, you must complete the full mandatory quarantine period.
Effective 24 January 2022
With Booster Dose,
or
Unaccompanied Teen
Fully-Vaccinated
w/o Booster Dose
Unvaccinated or
Not Fully Vaccinated
Quarantine Period
5 Days
7 Days
10 Days
Pre-Flight Test
Negative RT-PCR within 2 days before departure to Malaysia
On Arrival Test
RT-PCR test on day of arrival in Malaysia
Quarantine Test
RT-PCR (Day 4) or
RTK-Ag (Day 5)
RT-PCR (Day 5) or
RTK-Ag (Day 7)
RT-PCR (Day 8) or
RTK-Ag (Day 10)
Quarantine Release
Day 5
Day 7
Day 10
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Singapore and Malaysia allows for quarantine-free air travel!
Here is our latest guide on the Singapore to Malaysia Vaccinated Travel Lane!
Singapore-Malaysia Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) Announced!
After almost 2 years of border closures, Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to launch a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) on 8 November 2021.
From 29 November 2021 onwards, fully-vaccinated individuals will be allowed to travel between Changi Airport and KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport).
From 16 March 2021 onwards, fully-vaccinated individuals will be allowed to travel between Changi Airport and PIA (Penang International Airport).
Travellers using this Vaccinated Travel Lane will NOT be required to serve any quarantine or Stay-Home-Notice. They will only be required to take COVID-19 tests!
However, I should point out that this VTL scheme will NOT be cheap, as you will need to undergo several COVID-19 tests.
On 19 November 2021, the Immigration Department of Malaysia released details of the Vaccinated Travel Lane rules for people travelling from Singapore to Malaysia.
On 2 March 2022, the Malaysia Ministry of Health announced that VTL travellers are no longer required to undergo daily COVID-19 tests.
On 4 March 2022, the governments of Singapore and Malaysia announced that the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) programme would expand to include Penang.
Pre-Departure
Travellers must remain in Singapore and/or Malaysia in the last 14 consecutive days.
Travellers must be fully-vaccinated with the full regimen of COVID-19 vaccine recognised by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (KKM), at least two weeks before arrival in Malaysia.
Travellers must book a designated Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flight into Malaysia.
Travellers must take a separate COVID-19 RT-PCR test within 2 days before departure.
Travellers must download and register the MySejahtera app.
MyTravelPass is not required.
Short-term visitors, including business and official travellers, must : a) apply for visa (if required), b) purchase a return ticket, and c) purchase COVID-19 travel insurance (minimum RM 100,000 coverage)
Check-In
Travellers will need to present these documents at check-in : a) Travel document (passport / electronic visit pass) b) Valid vaccination certificate (physical or electronic) c) Negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test certificate d) MySejahtera app with registered profile
Short-term visitors, including business and official travellers, only will also require to present these at check in : a) visa (if required) b) return ticket c) proof of purchase of COVID-19 travel insurance (physical or electronic)
On Arrival
Take the on-arrival COVID-19 RT-PCR test, and wait 1-3 hours at the designated area in the airport for the test results.
After obtaining a negative RT-PCR test result, proceed to the arrival immigration and present the following : a) Travel document (passport / electronic visit pass) b) Boarding Pass c) Visa (if required) d) Return / onward ticket and proof of accommodation (applicable to all, except Permanent Residents of Malaysia and holders of Long-Term Passes).
Stay In Malaysia
Travellers must adhere to the current public health measures
Travellers must activate MySejahtera app at all times.
VTL Air Travel Guide : Malaysia To Singapore
The Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) released details of the Vaccinated Travel Lane rules for travel to and from Malaysia :
The joint VTL between Singapore and Malaysia is limited to travel between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) starting on 29 November 2021, and Penang International Airport (PIA) starting 16 March 2022.
Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) applications for Short-Term Visitors and Singapore Permanent Residents will commence on 22 November 2021 – returning Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who are fully-vaccinated will not need to apply.
The Singapore Minister of Transportation also announced that :
Applications for VTL will open on 22 November 2021.
Travellers to Singapore will be required to present a negative PCR test, or a professionally-administer ART (Antigen Rapid Test) taken 48 hours prior to departure.
Travellers to Singapore will be subjected to a PCR test on arrival.
Pre-Departure
Travellers must be fully-vaccinated with a WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) vaccine, at least two weeks before arrival in Singapore.
Unvaccinated travellers who are 12 years and below in the calendar year can travel to Singapore via the VTL if accompanied by a fully-vaccinated VTL traveller.
Travellers must be able to provide the Digital Certificate for COVID-19 Vaccination, either downloaded or shown on the MySejahtera app.
Travellers must have only travelled to, or transited through any VTL countries (like Malaysia) or Category I countries (like Hong Kong, Macao, Mainland China, Taiwan) in the last 14 consecutive days before departure to Singapore.
Travellers must travel to Singapore on a designated VTL flight from Malaysia.
Foreign short-term visitors must purchase a suitable travel insurance with a minimum coverage of S$30,000 against COVID-19 related medical charges from a Singapore or overseas-based insurer.
Foreign short-term visitors that require a visa to enter Singapore, must apply fro a visa.
Travellers, except those aged 2 and below in the calendar year, must undergo a COVID-19 PCR test / Antigen Rapid Test within 2 days before departure to Singapore.
Travellers under the VTL do not need a return flight ticket to enter Singapore.
Applying To Travel Under VTL
Singapore citizens and permanent residents do not need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass, but must comply with the VTL requirements.
Unvaccinated children of Singapore citizens and permanent residents, aged 12 and below, do not need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass either.
Foreign visitors, including Short-Term Visitors and Long-Term Pass Holders, must apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass from 22 November 2021 (10 AM SGT) onwards.
Children aged 12 and below accompanying foreign visitors do not need to apply.
All applications must be submitted between 7 and 60 days before the intended date of entry into Singapore.
Every Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) is valid for 6 calendar days from the traveller’s chose date of entry.
Essential Documents
Travellers must carry along an electronic / physical copy of these documents to present to the airline staff and immigration officers.
Documents
Singapore Citizens &
Permanent Residents
Long-Term
Pass Holders
Short-Term
Visitors
Accepted Proof of Vaccination
✓
✓
✓
Negative Pre-Departure
COVID-19 Test
✓
✓
✓
Valid Vaccinated Travel Pass
(VTP)
X
✓
✓
COVID-19 Insurance Policy
X
X
✓
Valid Visa (If Required)
X
X
✓
On-Arrival ART Test
Travellers, except children aged 2 and below in the calendar year and travellers who are certified positive for COVID-19 between 7-90 days before departure, are required to undergo a supervised self-administered ART test at a Quick Test Centre (QTC) or Combined Test Centre (CTC) within 24 hours of arrival in Singapore.
Except for attending the supervised ART, travellers are required to self-isolate in their declared accommodation until they are notified that they have tested negative. Travellers may only take private transportation, taxi, or private hire car between the QTC/CTC and their accommodation. Public transportation is not allowed.
Travellers should not wait for their test results at the test centre due to space constraints. They may leave the test centre once they have completed their self-administered ART and await notification of their test results via SMS or email.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The Singapore – Penang Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) programme kicks off on 16 March 2022!
Here is what you need to know…
Singapore – Penang VTL Travel Starts On 16 March 2022!
On 4 March 2022, the governments of Singapore and Malaysia announced that the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) programme would expand to include Penang.
From Wednesday, 16 March 2022 onwards, fully-vaccinated travellers in both countries will be able to fly between Penang and Singapore on approved airlines, without undergoing any mandatory quarantine.
Initially, there will be four flights per day, shared equally amongst the participating airlines.
The Singapore-Penang route will be the second VTL programme to be approved in Malaysia. The Singapore-KL route, which was approved in November 2021, brought in 82,906 passengers from Singapore as of 28 February 2022.
The government of Malaysia also announced that VTL flights to and from Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, as well as Phnom Penh in Cambodia will begin “very soon”.
VTL Travel Requirements : Singapore to Penang
Here are the current Singapore to Penang VTL travel requirements, which are similar to that of the Singapore-KL route.
Pre-Departure
Travellers must remain in Singapore and/or Malaysia in the last 14 consecutive days.
Travellers must be fully-vaccinated with the full regimen of COVID-19 vaccine recognised by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (KKM), at least two weeks before arrival in Malaysia.
Travellers must book a designated Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flight into Malaysia.
Travellers must take a separate COVID-19 RT-PCR test within 2 days before departure.
Travellers must download and register the MySejahtera app.
MyTravelPass is not required.
Short-term visitors, including business and official travellers, must : a) apply for visa (if required), b) purchase a return ticket, and c) purchase COVID-19 travel insurance (minimum RM 100,000 coverage)
Check-In
Travellers will need to present these documents at check-in : a) Travel document (passport / electronic visit pass) b) Valid vaccination certificate (physical or electronic) c) Negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test certificate d) MySejahtera app with registered profile
Short-term visitors, including business and official travellers, only will also require to present these at check in : a) visa (if required) b) return ticket c) proof of purchase of COVID-19 travel insurance (physical or electronic)
On Arrival
Take the on-arrival COVID-19 RT-PCR test, and wait 1-3 hours at the designated area in the airport for the test results.
After obtaining a negative RT-PCR test result, proceed to the arrival immigration and present the following : a) Travel document (passport / electronic visit pass) b) Boarding Pass c) Visa (if required) d) Return / onward ticket and proof of accommodation (applicable to all, except Permanent Residents of Malaysia and holders of Long-Term Passes).
Stay In Malaysia
Travellers must adhere to the current public health measures
Travellers must activate MySejahtera app at all times.
VTL Travel Requirements : Penang to Singapore
Here are the current Penang to Singapore VTL travel requirements, which are similar to that of the KL-Singapore route.
Pre-Departure
Travellers must be fully-vaccinated with a WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) vaccine, at least two weeks before arrival in Singapore.
Unvaccinated travellers who are 12 years and below in the calendar year can travel to Singapore via the VTL if accompanied by a fully-vaccinated VTL traveller.
Travellers must be able to provide the Digital Certificate for COVID-19 Vaccination, either downloaded or shown on the MySejahtera app.
Travellers must have only travelled to, or transited through any VTL countries (like Malaysia) or Category I countries (like Hong Kong, Macao, Mainland China, Taiwan) in the last 14 consecutive days before departure to Singapore.
Travellers must travel to Singapore on a designated VTL flight from Malaysia.
Foreign short-term visitors must purchase a suitable travel insurance with a minimum coverage of S$30,000 against COVID-19 related medical charges from a Singapore or overseas-based insurer.
Foreign short-term visitors that require a visa to enter Singapore, must apply fro a visa.
Travellers, except those aged 2 and below in the calendar year, must undergo a COVID-19 PCR test / Antigen Rapid Test within 2 days before departure to Singapore.
Travellers under the VTL do not need a return flight ticket to enter Singapore.
Applying To Travel Under VTL
Singapore citizens and permanent residents do not need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass, but must comply with the VTL requirements.
Unvaccinated children of Singapore citizens and permanent residents, aged 12 and below, do not need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass either.
Foreign visitors, including Short-Term Visitors and Long-Term Pass Holders, must apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass from 22 November 2021 (10 AM SGT) onwards.
Children aged 12 and below accompanying foreign visitors do not need to apply.
All applications must be submitted between 7 and 60 days before the intended date of entry into Singapore.
Every Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) is valid for 6 calendar days from the traveller’s chose date of entry.
Essential Documents
Travellers must carry along an electronic / physical copy of these documents to present to the airline staff and immigration officers.
Documents
Singapore Citizens &
Permanent Residents
Long-Term
Pass Holders
Short-Term
Visitors
Accepted Proof of Vaccination
✓
✓
✓
Negative Pre-Departure
COVID-19 Test
✓
✓
✓
Valid Vaccinated Travel Pass
(VTP)
X
✓
✓
COVID-19 Insurance Policy
X
X
✓
Valid Visa (If Required)
X
X
✓
On-Arrival ART Test
Travellers, except children aged 2 and below in the calendar year and travellers who are certified positive for COVID-19 between 7-90 days before departure, are required to undergo a supervised self-administered ART test at a Quick Test Centre (QTC) or Combined Test Centre (CTC) within 24 hours of arrival in Singapore.
Except for attending the supervised ART, travellers are required to self-isolate in their declared accommodation until they are notified that they have tested negative. Travellers may only take private transportation, taxi, or private hire car between the QTC/CTC and their accommodation. Public transportation is not allowed.
Travellers should not wait for their test results at the test centre due to space constraints. They may leave the test centre once they have completed their self-administered ART and await notification of their test results via SMS or email.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Malaysia will reopen borders for quarantine-free travel in March 2022… or maybe not?
Here is what you need to know!
Malaysia To Reopen Borders For Quarantine-Free Travel?
On 8 February 2021, the Malaysia National Recovery Council (NRC) agreed to reopen borders as early as 1 March 2022, for quarantine-free travel!
Yes, there will no longer be any mandatory quarantine for travellers flying into Malaysia!
However, Malaysia will still require pre-departure testing and upon arrival, as recommended by the Ministry of Health.
The reopening of Malaysia’s borders will be managed according to the current risk assessment, and the SOP will be announced later by the Ministry of Health.
It was recommended by the NRC that the country’s borders be fully opened in due time to support the nation’s recovery.
In connection to this, the council agrees that the nation’s borders are to fully open as early as March 1 without the need for mandatory quarantine.
The opening of the nation’s borders needs to be done accordingly and based on current risk assessment.
The reopening of Malaysia’s borders will revive the economy, and especially the international tourism industry which has been moribund for the past 2 years.
Malaysia May Not Reopen International Borders So Soon…
Just hours after the decision to reopen Malaysia’s international borders was announced, it was walked back by the Senior Minister (Defence) Hishamuddin Hussein.
I understand that National Recovery Council (NRC) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had made an announcement Tuesday (Feb 8) morning on this matter and at the quartet level, we have already instructed the Immigration Department, Health Ministry and Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to study the matter.
Once they have discussed the matter at length, they will bring it back to the quartet. We want people to come into our country but other countries have not made the same decision (to reopen their borders).
It is a big decision which can only be discussed at Cabinet level or the Covid-19 pandemic management special committee level.
Although he did not outright say it, it appears that Malaysia will not reopen international borders by 1 March 2022.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Please note that the new travel ban by Malaysia on 23 countries with high COVID-19 cases is FAKE NEWS!
Here is what you need to know!
Claim : Malaysia Travel Ban On 23 Countries!
On 7 January 2022, people started sharing a screenshot of a travel advisory by the Embassy of Malaysia in Berlin, Germany.
Please skip to the next section for the facts…
Embassy of Malaysia, Berlin
TRAVEL ADVISORY ENTRY RESTRICTIONS ON FOREIGN TRAVELERS TO MALAYSIA
Effective from 08 January 2022, the Government of Malaysia is imposing travel restrictions into Malaysia on foreign travellers who are travelling from countries that have recorded over 150,000 COVID-19 cases as listed below:
United States of America
The United Kingdom
Brazil
Bangladesh
India
Saudi Arabia
Russia
Pakistan
Peru
France
Colombia
Turkey
South Africa
Italy
Mexico
Germany
Spain
Iraq
Argentina
The Philippines
Chile
Indonesia
Iran
The entry restrictions include travellers who are citizens of/holders of long-term passes of the countries listed above who are residing in or travelling from those countries.
The latest decision is part of continuing efforts by the Government of Malaysia to contain the spread of COVID-19 and in view of the recent increase in the number of imported COVID-19 cases detected at international points of entry to Malaysia among travellers coming from the listed countries. The restriction is a temporary measure and will be reviewed regularly.
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS being created and circulated on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the facts…
Fact #1 : This Travel Advisory Was Forged
This travel advisory was forged from the original September 2020 travel advisory.
Back then, the government of Malaysia announced the temporary travel ban on those 23 countries, that would start on 7 September 2021.
The original travel advisory was edited, with the new date added to make it look like it’s new. But it was a very poor photo-editing job.
If you look carefully, the 08 January 2022, date is not only in bold , but of a different type of font and a much larger size.
Note : Here is the screenshot that went viral. I added a FAKE overlay to prevent further abuse.
Fact #2 : Embassy of Malaysia In Berlin Confirms It Is Fake
The Embassy of Berlin in Malaysia confirmed that the viral travel advisory is FAKE.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Embassy of Malaysia, Berlin would like to warn the public that there has been a fake news being circulated regarding travel advisory by the Embassy of Malaysia, Berlin on entry restriction on foreign travelers [sic] to Malaysia.
We condemn the actions of those who maliciously spread fake news which can have an adverse effect and concern to the public. The public is advice [sic] to validate the source before circulating any news.
Thank you.
Embassy of Malaysia, Berlin
7 January 2022
Fact #3 : Malaysia Currently Has No Travel Ban
There is currently no travel ban in Malaysia.
In fact, Malaysia just ended a temporary travel ban of 8 countries, on 27 December 2021, due to the risk of Omicron variant.
There is currently only a list of 18 countries that are considered high-risk due to the Omicron variant.
Australia
The United States of America
The United Kingdom
Norway
France
Denmark
Canada
Nigeria
India
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Botswana
Eswatini
Lesotho
Mozambique
Namibia
Zimbabwe
Malawi
Travellers from those 18 high-risk countries can still travel to Malaysia, but they must comply with the following additional restrictions :
Negative COVID-19 PCR test within 2 days before departure
COVID-19 PCR test on arrival in Malaysia
Wear a digital tracker on arrival in Malaysia
Mandatory quarantine of 7 days or 10 days, depending on vaccination status, either at home or at a quarantine centre, subject to approval.
Additional PCR test on Day 5 (for 7-day quarantine) or Day 8 (for 10-day quarantine).
Risk assessment on the last day of quarantine, which may be extended if you are symptomatic.
You will only be free from the quarantine on Day 8 or Day 11, if there is no quarantine extension and the Day 5 or Day 8 PCR test is negative.
Travellers from the United Kingdom have the additional requirement of conducting daily RTK-Ag tests during their quarantine, which must be reported in MySejahtera.
Now that you know the truth, please SHARE this fact check with your family and friends, so they won’t get fooled by it!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
