Question about Connections & Changi Airport!

Hi, I hope someone can help me with this! I am going to Australia in March via Zurich and Singapore.
I have only ever flown direct to places before so am a little nervous about the connections.
Do I have to collect my bags at any point or will they automatically go onto the next flight? I only have 55 mins at Zurich so this is terrifying haha!!!

Also, I have several hours at Changi and I want to enter the Jewel. I get conflicting advice when googling how I do this as I will be entering Singapore to do so. Do I need to have any kind of visa .. some say yes and some say no .. and I assume I go through passport control, but is it simple to go through and back again? Just nervous as I’ll be on my own!!!

Thank you so much in advance for any help!! 😊😊

For Zurich, your departure airport would've been helpful, but as I see you're from the UK, I'll assume a UK airport. Knowing which airlines you're flying with could also help give certainty.
Most probably: Your bags should automatically be checked through. For this I'm assuming that you booked the flights from UK to Zurich and Zurich to Singapore as a single "ticket" (preferable directly from the airline). If both those legs are operated by an airline from the same "alliance" (probably with one of them saying "operated by [different airline]", that makes this extremely likely.

The only case where your bags wouldn't be checked through would be if you booked the flights on a (somewhat dodgy) third party website which strung together completely unrelated flights, as if you'd booked them completely separately. However, which such a short layover, that'd be nearly criminal to do, as there'd be no way you would make your second flight. Such a website should also have made this extremely clear during the booking process.

I have no personal experience with Singapore, but I'd assume they'll have some type of visa on arrival service where you can effectively just enter the city for a day. I suspect someone with knowledge on this subject will be along shortly to confirm.

[ Edit: Edited on 24 Oct 2022, 15:22 GMT by Sander ]

>Do I have to collect my bags at any point or will they automatically go onto the next flight?

As Sander says, if you booked a 'through' ticket from the UK to Australia your bags will be checked through to your final destination. You don't need to worry about them other than to keep your fingers crossed that they arrive when you do!

If you've booked two separate flights or...as Sander notes...have used a 3rd-party website which has done so... 55 minutes is simply not enough time to get through Swiss border control, collect your bags, check them in again then get back through security and to your gate. I very much doubt that you've done that but it does need saying.

>Do I need to have any kind of visa .. some say yes and some say no .. and I assume I go through passport control, but is it simple to go through and back again?

Assuming you are a UK citizen you don't need any sort of visa to enter Singapore but you must complete an online SG Arrival Card up to 3 days before you enter (direct link on the FCO page below).

Regardless of your citizenship, if you're fully-vaccinated against Covid you need to show proof. I'd advise you to print off a hard copy of your vaccination status (see NHS link below) rather than really on your phone. Both wifi and phones can and do fail. Actually, I'd advise you to print off two copies, just in case....

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/nhs-covid-pass/get-an-nhs-covid-pass/

Regardless of your citizenship, if you're not fully-vaccinated against Covid you'll need to provide proof of a negative test (PCR, I think) taken less than 28 hours before arrival and show proof of travel health insurance to a minimum of S$ 30 000 and which will cover you for Covid.

The official FCO page has details of general and Covid-specific entry requirements for Singapore:

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/singapore/entry-requirements

I can't speak for how 'simple' it is to enter and leave Singapore but, as with all airports, I strongly suggest you give yourself ample time to get back through security and to your onward gate.

Thank you both so much for your replies! Yes I’m flying from London Heathrow and the flights were not booked separately so assuming I can fly through at Zurich!! 55 mins is definitely scary though haha!!!

Thank you for the advice re Singapore too that’s amazing thank you!!!! 😊

At Singapore it may be worth checking out the City Tour which is organized by the Singapore Airways in conjunction with the city. Your luggage is left for the airline to put onto the flight to Australia and, without going through immigration, there's a bus into the city and back and a brief walking tour of the city centre, including the Jewel. Definitely doable if you have a 6 hour or more layover.

Thank you so much for this! That sounds great! I have five hours on the way out but eight to kill on the way home! Could be a great option thank you very much!!!!