SINGAPORE - Budget carrier Scoot will be offering vouchers as refund for bookings made on or before Sunday (March 15) for travel up till end-May.

Eligible customers can apply for these vouchers via a self-service portal that will be set up within the next few days, the airline said.

The refund offer follows the announcement by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday afternoon advising against all non-essential travel overseas.

Scoot, the budget arm of Singapore Airlines (SIA), said it will support customers "with the flexibility to defer their travel plans in view of the current situation, which is unprecedented and has been developing very quickly".

"Scoot will continue to assess the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on global air travel in the coming weeks."

The move follows SIA's announcement that it is waiving all rebooking fees for tickets issued on or before Sunday for travel up to May 31.

Scoot said its refund vouchers will provide customers with the full value of their cancelled bookings. However, they should be used to book a new trip within the next 12 months.

As for the portal, it said it will update customers via its website, social media channels and e-mail when the self-service option is ready.

The carrier said that it is aware that customers have had to wait longer to get a responses from its agents.

Apologising for the inconvenience, the airline said the delay is due to the high volume of requests.

"Customers are encouraged to only contact us regarding the voucher if their flight is departing in the next 72 hours, as it would be easier for them to use the self-service portal once it is ready," it added.

For those who are looking to travel overseas in spite of the developing situation worldwide, Scoot will offer a one-time free date change for bookings made between Sunday and end-May.

The fare difference and other terms and conditions may apply, it said.