INDIA – Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA), today announced the launch of new flight services to Chiang Rai in Thailand, and Okinawa and Tokyo (Haneda) in Japan. These flights will commence progressively between December 2025 and March 2026, offering more options for holidaymakers planning their year-end and new year travels.

Located in the northernmost part of Thailand, Chiang Rai is known for its mountainous grandeur and serene atmosphere. Deeply rooted in Lanna heritage, its ethnic population is diverse with different hill tribes. Its multiculturalism is further reflected in the province’s architecture, cuisine and art. Scoot will begin five times weekly flights to Chiang Rai on 1 January 2026 on the Embraer E190-E2 aircraft.

Okinawa, Japan’s subtropical paradise, is an archipelago of islands known for its pristine beaches, clear waters, and unique Ryukyu heritage. Home to cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage sites, Okinawa offers an immersion into the rich history and natural beauty of the land. Scoot will also launch services to Tokyo (Haneda), providing travellers an alternative and convenient way to access the bustling capital of Japan. Three times weekly flights to Okinawa will begin on 15 December 2025 on the Airbus A320 family aircraft, while daily flights to Tokyo (Haneda) will begin on 1 March 2026 on the Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

One-way economy class fares^[1] start from INR 17,500 to Tokyo (Haneda) and Okinawa, and from INR 10,500 to Chiang Rai. With seamless connections via. Singapore, Indian travellers can now explore these destinations with Scoot.

The new flights will be available for booking from today via Scoot’s website, mobile application, and progressively through other channels.

With the launch of services to Chiang Rai, Okinawa and Tokyo (Haneda), Scoot will operate 111 weekly flights to Thailand and 45 weekly flights to Japan. With the new additions to its network, the airline will operate to 76 destinations (including Singapore) across 18 countries and territories in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.

Aside from the new destinations, Scoot will be increasing flight frequencies within its network to support anticipated demand for air travel during the upcoming holiday periods.

In Southeast Asia, flights to Bangkok increased from 35 to 39 times weekly from August 2025. Ipoh will see increased services from 17 to 21 times weekly from November 2025. Chiang Mai will also see progressive increase in frequencies to 14 times weekly by December 2025, up from seven times weekly.

In North Asia, services to Tokyo (Narita) (via Taipei) will progressively increase to 14 times weekly from October 2025, up from 12 times weekly. Services to Sapporo (Hokkaido) (via Taipei) will also increase from four to seven times weekly from December 2025. Correspondingly, services between Singapore and Taipei will gradually increase from 23 to 25 times from October 2025 and 25 to 28 times from December 2025. Additionally, flights to Jeju will increase from five to seven times weekly from January 2026.

In Europe, frequencies to Vienna will increase from three to four times weekly from March 2026.

Mr Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer of Scoot, shared, “We are thrilled to expand Scoot’s network in Asia with new routes to Chiang Rai, Okinawa and Tokyo (Haneda), offering our customers even more travel options. In addition, the upcoming increase in services to some cities will support stronger demand for air travel during the year-end and new year holiday periods. We will continue to look for opportunities to connect our customers to new travel experiences and memorable journeys with Scoot.”

Flight schedules are subject to government and regulatory approvals or changes. For more information on flight schedules, please visit www.flyscoot.com.

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Indian Navy (IN) Ships including indigenously built ASW corvette Kamorta and missile corvette Karmuk participated in the 2^nd edition of India, Singapore and Thailand Trilateral Maritime Exercise SITMEX-20, from 21 to 22 November 20 in Andaman Sea.

The first edition of SITMEX, hosted by Indian Navy, was conducted off Port Blair in September 2019. The SITMEX series of exercises are conducted to enhance mutual inter-operability and imbibing best practices between IN, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The 2020 edition of the exercise is being hosted by RSN.

RSN is being represented by the ‘Formidable’ Class frigate ‘Intrepid’ and ‘Endurance’ Class Landing Ship Tank ‘Endeavour’ and  RTN by the ‘Chao Phraya’ Class frigate ‘Kraburi’ in the exercise.

The exercise conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of COVID-19 pandemic, highlights growing synergy, coordination and cooperation in the maritime domain between the three friendly navies and maritime neighbours. The two days of maritime drills will witness the three navies participate in a variety of exercises including naval manoeuvres, surface warfare exercises and weapon firings.

Besides improving inter-operability between the friendly navies, SITMEX series of exercise also aim to strengthen mutual confidence and develop common understanding and procedures towards enhancing the overall maritime security in the region.

for Phase-II, Indian and the U.S. deployed aircraft carrier groups INS Vikramaditya and USS Nimitz respectively and P-8 long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft for Anti-Submarine Warfare drills. The two aircraft carriers, along with other ships, submarine and aircraft of the participating navies, engaged in high intensity naval operations, including cross-deck flying operations and advanced air defence exercises by MiG-29K fighters of INS Vikramaditya andF/A-18 fighters and E2C Hawkeye aircraft from USS Nimitz, the Navy said.

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Kushinagar Airport is located in the vicinity of several Buddhist Cultural Sites like Sravasti, Kapilvastu, Lumbini (Kushinagar itself is a Buddhist cultural site) and declaration as an “International Airport” will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of competitive costs to the air-travellers. It will result in boosting of domestic/international tourism and economic development of the regions.

Kushinagar is located in the north-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh about 50 km east of Gorakhpur and is one of the important Buddhist pilgrimage sites

Kushinagar is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Gautama Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana. It is regarded as a very sacred Buddhist pilgrimage centre where Buddhists pilgrims from all over the world come for pilgrimage. Kushinagar is dotted with several other Buddhist sites in the nearby surroundings like Sravasti (238 km), Kapilvastu (190 km) and Lumbini (195 km) that makes it an attraction for both followers and visitors alike. Kushinagar already serves as the presenting site for Buddhist circuit pilgrimage spanning across India and Nepal. Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to declare Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh as an International Airport.

Benefits :
The Buddhist Circuit is a key pilgrimage destination for 530 million practicing Buddhists across the globe. Hence declaration of Kushinagar Airport as an ‘International Airport’ will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of services at competitive costs to the air-travellers resulting in boosting of domestic/international tourism and economic development of the region.

On any given day, around 200-300 devotees from Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Burma, etc are coming and offering their prayers at Kushinagar. However, this International tourist destination has no direct connectivity, which has been a long pending demand of the visitors.

Direct international connectivity to Kushinagar would substantially increase the number of foreigners and domestic tourists visiting Kushinagar, which will also provide impetus to economic development of the region. The international airport is expected to boost the already growing tourism and hospitality ecosystem in the country.

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While there were no new deaths confirmed outside Hubei, the national tally of verified infections rose by 769, about half of them in Hubei, the National Health Commission said. It said 461 of those infected were in a serious condition.

China has sealed off Hubei in the country’s centre, an unprecedented operation affecting tens of millions of people which is intended to slow the transmission of the respiratory virus.

The end of the Lunar New Year holiday, China’s busiest travel season, was pushed back to Sunday from Friday to “effectively reduce mass gatherings” and “block the spread of the epidemic,” a Cabinet statement said. Schools will also postpone reopening until further notice, it added.

Cases have been confirmed in the semi-autonomous territories of Macau and Hong Kong, where the government is turning holiday camps into quarantine centres. South Korea confirmed its fourth case on Monday.

Scattered cases have also been confirmed in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, Vietnam, Singapore Malaysia, Nepal, France, Canada and Australia. The US has confirmed cases in Washington state, Chicago, southern California and Arizona.

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