Domestic border restrictions ease in Cairns

After two years of domestic border checks, Cairns has woken up to a new era without restrictions when travelling interstate, which is good for families and business.

AFTER two years of domestic border restrictions, travel in to Cairns becomes a whole lot easier today.

Skye Warren, from Smithfield, flew from Cairns Airport to Melbourne on Friday and said she was happy to be able to finally see her family in Victoria and be able to return without restrictions.

“We are very excited to see them finally so it will be good to see everybody, there have been so many missed birthdays and special events,” she said.

“This takes off a lot of pressure and eases a lot of stress knowing we can come back without restrictions.”

State governments have decided to drop the border restrictions that have been in place since the Covid-19 coronavirus arrived in Australia in 2020, with travellers not requiring Covid-19 PCR tests or border passes, unless travelling to and from Australia. Skye Warren of Smithfield was travelling to Melbourne with her children Sebastian Warren, 8, and Madison Warren, 15, to see family and was pleased to see the reintroduction of unrestricted travel. Picture: Brendan Radke

Ms Warren said she hadn’t seen her family in Victoria for more than a year.

The decision to abandon restrictions for domestic visitors is good news for businesses in the Far North.

Cairns Chamber of Commerce CEO Patricia O’Neill said there were a few benefits for businesses.

“I think businesses will be delighted, it allows them to have more foot traffic come through the door and allows them the ability to dip in a larger pool of potential employees,” she said.

Originally published as Domestic border restrictions ease in Cairns