INTERNATIONAL: Singapore's borders have effectively been closed for 21 months, so news that the rules will finally be relaxed has sent residents rushing for a ticket out. On 9 October, Singapore announced that is opening its borders to more countries for quarantine-free travel as the city-state seeks to rebuild its status as an international aviation hub and prepares to reach a "new normal" to live with Covid-19.

From 19 October, fully-vaccinated people from eight countries, including Britain, France, Spain and the United States, will be able to enter the island without quarantining if they pass a Covid-19 test. By 15 November, one more country - South Korea - will be added to the list.

After the announcement, the demand for tickets was so great that travel websites crashed. The website of Singapore Airlines went down over the weekend, causing a frenzy among eager travellers and leading one Reddit thread to pose the question: "Did we just collectively break SIA's website?".