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Summary
- The two-way corridor between Australia and NZ will open on April 18.
- However, the travel will be more restricted than it was before COVID-19.
- Air NZ and Qantas plan to increase flights between Australia and NZ to atleast 70% of the levels operated before the pandemic.
NZ PM Jacinda Ardern announced Tuesday that a trans-Tasman travel bubble would start in 2 weeks. The quarantine-free travel will start from April 18 at 11:59 pm. Ardern revealed that the requirements for opening up of the quarantine-free travel with Australia had been fulfilled and the director general of health then considered the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from Australia to NZ to be low.
However, Jacinda has cautioned that the travel between both the countries would happen under the guidance of flyer beware and would not happen as they were before COVID-19. Travellers should brace for the likelihood of travel delays if an outbreak happens, she added.
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In the event of an outbreak in Australia, there will be a system for treating Kiwis, just as there are warning levels for handling the cases in NZ.
Here is a snapshot of the announcements made by Ardern for people travelling to or from NZ.
- If you're flying to or from NZ on a quarantine-free plane, you won't be permitted to travel if you have cold or flu symptoms, however you won't need to take a COVID-19 examination.
- Anyone who has had a positive COVID-19 test within the last 14 days or is awaiting the outcome of a COVID-19 test within the last 14 days will be unable to fly.
- On flights, masks will be needed.
- People landing in NZ will pass through a "green zone" in the airport, which will be separated from any other aircraft from elsewhere, and the flights will be crewed by personnel who have never flown on a high-risk route.
- The bubble would give the economic recovery of NZ a boost.
Quarantine-free flights to begin
Air NZ has been preparing for the travel bubble for a few months. The airline provided an early hint on the bubble date by revealing its forward schedule, which boosted its Australian list, starting April 19. The airline will be ramping up flights between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown, and 8 of its Australian ports.
The airline plans to increase flights between the 2 countries to at least 70% of pre-pandemic levels from April 19. It also added that Air NZ would also be able to lower its cash burn by restarting more regular flights.
However, Qantas and Jet Star plan to operate at 83% of the capacity of the pre-coronavirus levels. Qantas stated that for at least the next six months its projected capacity reflected a high degree of potential demand for what might be Australia's only quarantine-free international destination.
It also added that this was counterbalanced by the fact that foreign visitors from countries leaving Australia and NZ made up about 20% of the passengers travelling between the two countries.
Further, Virgin Australia does not have a plan to resume its NZ schedule till September. The airline has postponed the sale of most NZ services until 31 October 2021.
