New Zealand flights begin as trans-Tasman travel bubble opens
More than a year after unrestricted travel came to a grinding halt, hundreds of travellers are taking advantage of the trans-Tasman bubble at Sydney Airport.
NSW
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Sydney International Airport has been flooded with travellers getting on the first flights to New Zealand in more than a year, after a long wait to be reunited with family and friends.
Today marks the launch of the quarantine-free travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand with Sydney Airport host to 13 flights across the Tasman Sea.
Flights are resuming to all pre-COVID destinations in New Zealand across 15 routes after almost 400 days.
The international terminal is a flood of emotion with travellers embarking on family visits that have been many months in the making.
The Smith family from Bondi bought tickets to Auckland as soon as the bubble was announced, desperate to get on one of the first flights to NZ.
“Our little man is only one so our family has never met him which is why we’re on one of the first planes out,” Jonathan Smith said.
“We literally booked as Jacinda was announcing the bubble during the press release.
“We’re very excited for the kids to see their cousins and grandparents.”
Sydneysider Dawn Piebenga is travelling to her hometown of Pirongia, New Zealand to visit her parents and brothers.
“I’m particularly excited because my father had an accident last November and we haven’t been able to see him since,” Mrs Piebenga said.
“I haven’t seen my family since November 2019 so my kids and I are pretty stoked to be heading off.
Mother and daughter Tascha and Beth Mang from Sydney’s North Shore are also travelling to New Zealand to visit family who they haven’t seen since 2018.
Beth Mang is returning to her birthplace to be reunited with her father in Hamilton who has fallen ill since border closures last year and said she “can’t believe today we are really going.”
“The day my dad had surgery they announced the travel bubble and I just thought no way,” Mrs Mang said.
“I was straight on when they announced it and now we’re on one of the first flights out of Sydney.”
“It all feels very emotional, I just can’t believe we are finally going.”
After much anticipation, Sydney woman Lori Roger wasted no time booking a flight to Christchurch to celebrate her closest friend’s engagement.
Ms Roger, 37, from Campsie, said: “I‘ve had my flight cancelled a few times and my friend was forced to postpone her engagement party on numerous occasions. I just hope the bubble doesn’t pop this time.’’
Trans-Tasman travel will not require mandatory testing, proof of vaccination or quarantine, but passengers must wear masks during flights and agree to be tracked via an app for contact tracing purposes.
Those with cold or flu-like symptoms cannot travel.
Transport Minister Michael McCormack said officials have also begun talks with other nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Hopefully more travel bubbles will be able to be opened up with perhaps Singapore … Japan, South Korea, South Pacific Island nations,” Mr McCormack told Sky News.
Asked who was at the top of the queue, Mr McCormack said: “Singapore”.
“We started those discussions some weeks ago between the departments of the transport ministries of both countries,” he said.
“As the vaccine rolls out here and elsewhere, it is important to know that we have the confidence for people to be able to travel … and not to have to go through the quarantine situation.”
OVER 50S ‘SHOULD GET VACCINE’
Australian health officials remain determined to plough ahead with the rollout of the AstraZeneca jab to people aged over 50, despite a huge spike in vaccine hesitancy amid confusion and safety concerns.
As GPs report mass cancellation of appointments following the death of a 48-year-old NSW woman from a blood clot associated with the AstraZeneca jab, chief nursing and midwifery officer Alison McMillan urged hesitant Australians to speak with their doctor about their concerns.
“Please look to the information you can rely on so that you can make a decision that’s informed by the most … up-to-date information,” she said.
Australia’s peak advisory board has assessed the vaccine as safe for people 50 and above, however, several countries overseas have taken an even more cautious approach to alleviate concerns about the blood clot risk. Canada will only give AstraZeneca to people over 55 and Germany is giving it to people over 60.
The NSW woman who died from blood clots was only two years shy of the threshold now set in Australia.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison was one of the first people to receive the Pfizer jab in Australia, meaning he received an option unlikely to be offered to other people his age under the new guidelines.
“The AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and recommended for use for those aged over 50,” he said.
“There is no change to that; that is confirmed again by TGA advice that has come through.”
He urged people over 70 to book a vaccine appointment, and revealed he expected his own elderly mother to receive her first jab this week.
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