Where Australians will be able to travel to next month
The international travel ban is finally being dropped next month, with airlines already revealing where Aussies will be able to fly in November.
The much-maligned international travel ban is finally being scrapped next month, with airlines already revealing where Aussies will be able to fly in November.
Double-vaccinated Australians can start planning their trips to the US, UK, Singapore and Japan among other destinations, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison laying out the framework that states and territories will need to meet before they can welcome back overseas Aussies today.
“It's time to give Australians their lives back. We’ve saved lives. We've saved livelihoods but we must work together to ensure that Australians can reclaim the lives that they once had in this country,” Mr Morrison told reporters from Canberra.
Mr Morrison said Australia was moving towards Phase C of its reopening plan and would hit that goal next month, when the nation has 80 per cent of its population double-vaccinated.
In response, Qantas has brought forward flights to some of its biggest destinations by over a month.
Flight Centre boss Graham Turner told news.com.au that things would likely “get back to normal very, very quickly” once Australia hits Phase C.
“There’s still 18 international airlines flying into Australia … they don’t all have the same seat availability they did before but once you can travel without hotel quarantine things will go back to normal,” he said.
Mr Turner predicted fares wouldn’t be “that expensive” and would likely be in line with the usual pre-Christmas rush prices.
“Everyone want to see family at this time so there’ll be a fair bit of demand because everyone wants to see their family . but I think it’ll be normal, pre-Covid, high season prices once everything comes back on the market.”
Mr Turner praised the government for dropping hotel quarantine for Australians, but urged the same privileges to be given to tourists.
“The main thing is tourists won’t want to isolate at home for seven days, I don’t think any other country does that, that is quite an onerous thing, it should be one or two days until you receive a negative test.”
Mr Turner said he was expecting Qantas to take some time to “get organised” due to not running international flights.
“They generally need a bit of planning, it depends on the circumstance, they could get back pretty quickly … maybe within two weeks I think … but they need to get their pilots, the crew, get rosters done, they may have to get people back they stood down or even made redundant,” he said.
“The thing for Qantas is international carriage is, in terms of their business, not crucial to them, domestic is of top importance and international is second so they’re happy to take a bit of time because they know the capacity will be covered by other airlines.”
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Mr Morrison said a number of hurdles need to be cleared before international flights resume again.
“Firstly, we need home quarantine pilots in New South Wales and South Australia to conclude and be successful so they can be rolled out at scale,” the PM said.
Second, the seven-day home quarantine can only be completed by Australian citizens and permanent residents that are fully vaccinated with a vaccine recognised by the TGA.
Fourteen-day quarantine will still be in place for anyone not fully vaccinated or vaccinated with a vaccine not recognised by the TGA.
“We‘re also offering facilitated commercial flights for Australians overseas into states and territories that agree to commence the home quarantine trials,” Mr Morrison said.
The PM said Australia was also working towards “completely quarantine-free travel for certain countries such as New Zealand when it is safe to do so”.
Thirdly, Australians who want to travel overseas once restrictions are removed will need an internationally recognised proof of vaccination document.
“So this is an important next step in the national plan. No surprises here … we said to Australians – we get to 80 per cent, you can leave the country and you can come back again,” Mr Morrison said.
“I’m going to keep the deal with Australians when it comes to the national plan.”
Mr Morrison said the airlines were playing a “key role” in Australians coming home and he was making the announcement now to give them time to get ready for November.
“They’re a peak partner in this process … this opens up a significant source of demand in November, that’s why I’m saying it in October so there’s plenty of time now for airlines to go and prepare, to look at the demand, not just Qantas and Virgin,” he said.
“I think the demand of this means we will see an increase in flights.”
A Sydney Airport spokesman told news.com.au it was “great news for thousands of Australians who want to come home or head overseas and reunite with family and friends”.
“It’s also terrific for the hundreds of businesses at the airport who have been hanging on by their fingernails for the past 18 months, it gives them some genuine hope that recovery is around the corner,” he said, adding that businesses will “take this latest change in their stride”.
“Right through the crisis we’ve been saying we will be ready to go as soon as the Government gives the green light on international borders.”
Anyone hoping to get on a plane must also test negative to Covid before their flight, and have received two doses of a Covid vaccine.
The international travel ban was due to be lifted on December 17 – 21 months after it was imposed – however a sharp rise in vaccination rates, especially in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, means the ring of steel can be dropped a month earlier.
Qantas had initially scheduled its international flights to resume on December 18, a day after the travel ban was due to end.
The airline will now push forward its schedule to November 14 to get Aussies home, operating three weekly return flights between Sydney and London and three weekly return flights between Sydney and Los Angeles. More flights will be added to meet demand, if needed.
Earlier this month, Trade Minister Dan Tehan said Australia could likely form travel bubbles with similar nations — including New Zealand, the Pacific and Singapore — once vaccination rates hit 80 per cent.
Qantas released its international flight schedule on August 26 however issued a caveat that things could change if vaccination rates rose.
“Assuming current projections hold and the 80 per cent vaccine threshold is met in December, Qantas and Jetstar plan to trigger a gradual restart as outlined below. If those assumptions change or dates move, the restart plans will adjust accordingly,” a statement from the airline said.
- Sydney – London on November 14
- Sydney – Los Angeles on November 14
- Melbourne – London on December 18
- Melbourne – Los Angeles on December 19
- Brisbane – Los Angeles on December 19
- Sydney – Honolulu on December 20
- Sydney – Vancouver on December 18
- Sydney – Singapore on December 18
- Melbourne – Singapore on December 18
- Brisbane – Singapore on December 19
- Sydney – Tokyo on December 19
- Sydney – Fiji on December 19
An update on Monday issued by Qantas also reroutes its Melbourne to London flights through either Darwin or Singapore, due to border closures in Western Australia.
Other global airlines, including Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways have bookings for all major destinations in Europe and the US from November.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce on Monday said Aussies were “clearly keen to travel”.
“We saw a 175 per cent spike in web searches in the week after we announced our plans and we’ve seen strong bookings for December and January for our flights to London, Los Angeles and Singapore in particular,” he said.
“The key factor in determining the ongoing demand level for international flying will be what the quarantine arrangements are for Australians when they return. The seven day home quarantine trial in New South Wales is a great step forward and we’re hoping the system evolves quickly for vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries to not have to quarantine on arrival, particularly given Australia itself is on track to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. That’s fast becoming the standard between many countries overseas.”
Mr Morrison first announced the border closure on March 20, 2020 to all non-citizens and nonresidents.
Even Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family needed to apply for an exemption to travel and to quarantine at a hotel for 14 days on arrival at a cost of more than $3000.
NSW is expected to be first cab off the rank and travellers will be able to trial a seven-day home quarantine option. Victoria is also in talks to reopen international travel.
But with states including Western Australia proposing to keep even state borders shut, the decision means Australians are likely to be able to fly to Paris before they can travel to Perth.
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