Emotional scenes as loved ones unite at Queensland airports
Queenslanders have been reunited with loved ones after months and even years separated by border closures and travel restrictions.
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Queensland’s border barricade finally crumbled and Brisbane Airport became the terminal of tears and cheers on an extraordinary day to mark the dawn of a new era.
With fully vaccinated travellers from NSW, Victoria and the ACT now finally able to enter Queensland without quarantine, airports across the state hosted tear-jerking reunions that left grown men blubbering messes in the arms of sons, mothers, wives and daughters.
There were reunions of long-lost loves and first glimpses for relatives who had never met before.
Births, deaths, weddings and funerals have all been missed in the chaos of Covid, but from the sorrow and frustration of continued uncertainty, new emotions have arrived: hope, relief and even unbridled joy.
Forget Love Actually. This was Love Reality with Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and House Party replaced by flesh-and-blood reunions between loved ones separated for up to two years by border closures and travel restrictions.
Brisbane’s Kathy Underhill was reunited with her son and daughter-in-law for the first time in two years at Brisbane Airport.
She said she was elated to have her “little baby” Tom home for Christmas, especially after missing his September wedding in Greece.
More wedding celebrations, which family have dubbed “the sequel”, will be held next month.
Ms Underhill said she travelled to England at the end of 2019, but it had been “367 days” since the newly married couple decided they wanted to relocate to Queensland.
“It was so beautiful to have that first hug … I just didn’t want to let him go … I closed my eyes because I really thought he wasn’t going to be there when I opened them,” she said.
“As I always say hi-tech will never replace hi-touch.”
Ms Underhill said even if there were no gifts under the Christmas tree this year, on Monday morning they were “given the greatest gift of all”.
“Tom and Rebecca both turned 30 this year – another milestone we have missed, but we are grateful and thankful to have this amazing time back over Christmas.”
The couple flew straight from London to Sydney on November 21, rebooking their Queensland flight last week as soon as the Premier announced the state’s domestic border would reopen.
On Monday morning, it was also the first time Mr Underhill was able to meet his goddaughter Persephone.
“It’s hard to describe that feeling because you love these people so much and talk to them almost every day over the phone, but there’s nothing quite like seeing them in person,” he said.
“When you meet them in real life for the first time like Perci, who I have been able to see grow up but only from afar, it’s really special.”
Others showed off goosebumps as the anticipation of waiting for the return of loved ones became almost overwhelming.
With Qantas flight QF504 touching down in Brisbane early Monday, a choir belted out the Aussie anthem I Still Call Australia Home as travellers swept family into their arms.
Lincoln Mathews was shaking as he walked off the first flight from Sydney and swept his wife Maxine into a hug after nine months apart.
Submariner Nathan Downes reunited with his mother Lyn and father Adrian for the first time in eight months while sisters Stephanie Truscott, from Wollongong, and Vanessa Rasmussen, from Brisbane, embraced after a lengthy absence of missed birthdays and special occasions.
While there were scenes of euphoria at Queensland airports, there was also a sense that this was the trickle before the tsunami.
Many hotels and resorts are expecting strong occupancy figures by the weekend, but booking numbers for the early part of the week have been sluggish.
Road traffic into Queensland – which had carried dire warnings of huge delays and reminders to “pack your patience” – flowed smoothly and quietly, with no queues whatsoever at the Griffith St checkpoint in Coolangatta.
A few motorists honked their horns in celebration, or it could have just been to say hello to the hordes of media camped out at the border.
The Pacific Motorway and Gold Coast Highway had longer delays, but nowhere near the two-hour waits seen at times during border restrictions.
Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman from Gold Coast police said “it was a good day” all around, with only a handful of cars were turned around at Queensland entry points for failing to meet requirements.
Friday – the original date for the border reopening and when controversial vaccine mandates come into effect – is expected to be busier for authorities.
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