First non-quarantine Air New Zealand flight lands in Queensland
Queensland has welcomed the first international arrivals who do not need to quarantine today for the first time since March 2020.
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Families and friends have been reunited at the Brisbane International Airport today as the first first quarantine-free flight have arrived from Auckland
In a momentous event for the airline industry, 25 passengers on Air New Zealand’s flight NZ147 from Auckland were the first to walk freely from the international terminal without having to quarantine.
For Tarquin Magner, 16, it meant reuniting with his friends since he left the day before the borders shut last March.
“I spent the whole year back with my family in New Zealand and now I’ve just come back to Aussie (sic) today,” he said.
He said it was nice to spend time with family in New Zealand after living in Australia since 2018, but he was glad to see his friend Michael Pickett who picked him up from the airport.
“I just need to go and get a new sim card and I might go see my mates after this and might celebrate tonight.”
Rebekah Freeman and her three children Oliver, 13, Ava, 11 and Charlie, 9 returned after they spent 18 months living in New Zealand.
“We went over there for my husband’s work and he’s still over there finishing off some studies and then we came home a bit earlier than we thought because COVID threw a spanner in the works,” she said.
“We were prepared to do quarantine, we only just found out we didn’t need to two days ago while sitting in a cafe.”
The far north Queensland family returned in time for the children to start the school year, but the children wouldn’t see their father until August unless border restrictions in New Zealand were lifted.
“We’re really hoping that we can see him and spend some time with him.”
Brisbane Airport Corporation’s Chief Executive Gert-Jan De Graaff said that while only 25 passengers were on this flight, there was a plane load of travellers arriving in Queensland from New Zealand on Saturday.
“There is demand for it, this Saturday we’ve got a flight with 182 passengers arriving,” he said.
“Seeing all these people back in a safe way without having to quarantine is the first step back to normalcy, which is great for the airport, great for Queensland but most importantly it’s fantastic for the people who have flown, they can see their families that they couldn’t up until now.”
Air New Zealand flight NZ147 was the first of three weekly non-quarantine flights from Auckland to Brisbane, with two weekly flights remaining for passengers requiring quarantine.
Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty said the quarantine-free flights are for passengers who started their travel in New Zealand and have been there for 14 days prior to travelling.
“Our teams have been working closely with authorities in Australia to ensure all agencies are satisfied, processes are in place to confidently accept quarantine-free flights, and we thank customers for their patience while we’ve worked with various agencies in Australia to ensure we can keep everyone safe,” she said.
The arrangement remains one-way at the moment, with travellers returning to New Zealand still required to quarantine for 14 days at their own expense.
Brisbane Airport Corporation’s Chief Executive Gert-Jan de Graaff said this first ‘safe travel zone’ flight from one of Queensland’s largest travel markets is an important step to re-establishing international aviation activity.
“As the result of Queensland’s outstanding management of COVID-19, I am very confident that these safe travel zone flights between Queensland and New Zealand will be a success and provide a blueprint for similar arrangements with other countries in the future,” he said.
“While only a one-way ‘bubble’, we nonetheless expect these flights will bring families back together and support economic activity between New Zealand and our state.”
“We look forward to the resumption of two-way travel between our countries soon and will work closely with all relevant bodies to ensure we are ready to go when that happens.
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