Why airlines will soon stop some passengers from flying to Singapore
Airlines flying into Singapore will soon be required to stop some passengers from boarding their flights, as the city-state tightens border controls.
From January 2026, major carriers including Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Emirates, Turkish Airlines and AirAsia will begin implementing a new “no-boarding directive”, under which passengers flagged as ineligible for entry will be barred from boarding flights to Singapore. More airlines are expected to join the scheme from March.
The move follows figures from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) showing that about 41,800 foreigners were turned away at Singapore’s checkpoints in the first 11 months of 2025. That is nearly 26% more than the total for all of 2024, and 46% higher than in 2023.
Under the new system, airlines will work with Singapore authorities to identify high-risk or prohibited travellers before they depart. These include people with criminal records, those using forged documents or multiple identities, and individuals banned from entering Singapore.
ICA said it has already strengthened checks at its borders using automated lanes with forgery detection, biometric screening and data analytics. These tools allow officers to spot impersonation attempts and other security risks more quickly.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Joe Tan said advance passenger information and analytics are also used to flag travellers for closer scrutiny even before they arrive.
“We do not deny travellers entry simply because they are identified as high-risk upstream,” he said. “They are stopped for further checks, interviews and investigations to determine their eligibility."
The new directive pushes these checks even further upstream, preventing certain travellers from flying to Singapore at all. Authorities say this will reduce congestion at checkpoints and improve overall security.
Similar systems are already used in countries such as the United States and Australia. In the US, airlines screen passengers against a federal watch list, while Australia uses its Movement Alert List to flag people of interest before travel.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
