Reporter bursts into tears as she’s surprised at Brisbane Airport on live TV
There were emotional scenes across Queensland’s airports today as thousands of Aussies were finally let in and one TV reporter couldn’t hold back tears.
It’s been one of the most contentious border closures in the country.
But now, vaccinated Australians can pack their bags, jump in the car or board a plane — and cross the border into Queensland without having to go into any form of quarantine after almost five months of being closed.
From 1am today, Australians from around the country were given the green light to enter the sunshine state providing a negative test is complete, followed by an additional negative PCR test on day five of their time in the state.
There were emotional scenes at both Gold Coast Airport and Brisbane Airport as families and friends reunited for the first time in 141 days - the length of time the border has been shut with NSW and Victoria.
Nine reporter Christine Ahern, the Melbourne correspondent for Today, was on the first flight from Melbourne to Brisbane and spoke of her excitement on the plane.
“I, of course, have my own family in Queensland, like so many other Victorians. I haven't seen them for a year, so my sister, Sharon, and my nieces and nephew, Max, Anika and also Quinny, I'm coming for you,” she said.
Ms Ahern told the show she would be seeing her parents in a few days but little did she know, the Today team had organised them to come to the airport for an emotional reunion.
“Oh my God, mum and dad. Oh my God,” she said, as she burst into tears.
Ms Ahern described it as “the best work morning ever”.
“I didn’t think I would see these guys ... it has just been so long since I have seen my beautiful parents and these are just some of the best parents you could hope for,” she said.
“They have just been on the phone always to me during lockdown, talking me through it, FaceTime with these beautiful nieces and nephews. My family means everything and it has been a long, hard time in Victoria but I have got the most wonderful family and they have seen me through and this moment is just... I can’t believe you are here. Who organised this? This is so amazing.”
The moment left Today hosts Sylvia Jeffreys and David Campbell emotional too, with both of them wiping away tears as they watched Ms Ahern’s reunion.
“It's just gorgeous,” Jeffreys said.
“It's so nice seeing everyone coming back together again. Let's move on before I really ugly cry.”
Police estimate up to 50,000 people could cross the border today with the first flight from NSW touching down at Gold Coast Airport in Coolangatta just after 6.30am local time.
The second flight into Queensland landed at Brisbane Airport around 7.30am.
Brisbane man Thomas Underhill was able to meet his niece for the first time after trying get home from London for two years.
In that time he and his wife Rebecca were married in Greece.
He told news.com.au while it was strange not to have family at the celebrations they will continue Down Under.
“We have another wedding here in January. It’s just a continuation of our celebrations,” he said.
“We have tried to come back about three times and now we’re finally here.”
His older brother Nick choked back tears when he introduced him to his niece Percy.
“Not having him here has been shithouse. It has been hard to rationalise. It is just this bizarre thing you would never think could happen,” he said.
Another woman at Brisbane Airport was seen sobbing as she embraced family she’d waited more than 140 days to see.
Down on the Gold Coast, thousands of people have already made it into the sunshine state via air or road.
Jetstar CEO Gareth Evans told Today it was a “great feeling” to have the first flight into Queensland.
Jetstar and Qantas are ramping up its services into Queensland exponentially this week, going from 100 flights last week to around 700.
“Pre-Covid, 60 per cent of Jetstar’s domestic Australian network touched Queensland, the vast majority of that out of NSW and Victoria,” Mr Evans said.
“So this is a massive part of our network. To have it back on again just in time for Christmas is a huge, huge boost.
“Just in terms of the size, Qantas and Jetstar combined last week flew 100 services into Queensland. This week we will fly 700 services into Queensland and next week we’ll fly 1200 services into Queensland. So it’s that big.”
Queensland Police Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman said the road border at Coolangatta was also flowing smoothly - but urged patience over the next few days.
“We always know that any of these significant border changes, the first day or two days is usually the most challenging for not only our operations but also for the community,” he told Today.
“So to see this type of reduction in traffic at this particular point in time is really good news. But we‘ll just have to wait and see how it plays out. It is early days but yeah peak hour is probably going to be the challenging time for us.”
Since Queensland’s Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the border’s reopening plan in October, the state has been plagued with a string of new Covid cases.
On Friday, nine new cases of COVID-19 were recorded, including six that were infectious while in the Gold Coast community.
The state recorded one new case of Covid-19 on Sunday, a man in his 30s who acquired the virus overseas after travelling from Nigera. The case was detected in hotel quarantine.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr James Smith said the man is being tested for the Omicron variant.
“Given the African connection there we are very closely following his genomic sequencing results which should be available in the next day to two days,” he said.
“Obviously very interested in whether this may be Omicron.”
What are the new travel rules in Queensland
After the state reached 80 per cent of the eligible population to be fully vaccinated, Queensland announced a reopening date of 1am on Monday, December 13.
From this date, vaccinated Australians will be able to enter the state without having to enter any form of quarantine — however there are several rules that must be adhered to.
The traveller must be fully vaccinated, they must have a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken within the 72 hours prior to arrival into Queensland, and they must agree to get a Covid-19 PCR test on day five following their arrival into Queensland.
According to the Queensland government website, if it’s not practical to get a PCR test on day five (such as it falls on Christmas Day), you can have your test on day four, or as soon as practicable after day five.
People will also require a border pass, but on Friday morning the state had not yet made passes available.
From December 13, arrival into Queensland can be by any means, including road. There is no longer a need to quarantine if the measures above are met.
There are no restrictions or testing requirements for those entering Queensland from a non-hotspot zone, such as Hobart.
Anyone else arriving into Queensland who is not vaccinated may only do so by air, and must complete 14 days of hotel quarantine at their own expense. This applies to Queensland residents or those relocating to Queensland from another state or territory.
Commuter nightmare as planes fill, roads turn to gridlock
The flurry of southerners crossing the Queensland border has created a nightmare for local traffic congestion.
Prior to the border reopening, residents living either side in NSW and Queensland feared the influx over the next week and into Christmas will create traffic chaos that could consequently repel tourists.
Speaking to the ABC, business owner Bridgette Clark opened her patisserie just metres from the Griffith Street checkpoint earlier this month and feared the excess traffic over the festive season might put people off visiting her shopfront.
“I don’t know if the high volume is going to put them off,” she said.
“[Locals] don’t want to sit in a line-up for hours just to be able to come over for dinner or lunch or catch up for coffee.”
Despite vaccinated travellers now allowed to cross the border on land or in the sky, the hard barrier bollards will stay until Queensland reaches a 90 per cent vaccination rate. Currently sitting at 80 per cent, that new milestone is expected to happen in mid-January.
While it still remains unclear exactly how police will moderate and clear commuter traffic, there are warnings travellers could wait up to four hours in delays with authorities even pleading for people to consider travelling at a later date or “pack” their patience.
Speaking to The Guardian Australia on Friday ahead of the border reopening, the New South Wales cross-border commissioner, James McTavish, said there was also some concern that northern NSW may not have the Covid testing capacity to meet demand heading into the first week of the border opening.
“There have been large numbers of people moving from all parts of NSW and Victoria into northern NSW in advance of the opening on Monday,” McTavish said.
“People need to get that PCR test done within 72 hours [of crossing], and there’s limited capacity on the north coast. I’m conscious that people may think they can waltz into a testing clinic and get it done.”
Gold Coast acting chief superintendent Rhys Wildman expects the first week or so of the border opening to be “quite challenging”.
“(There will be) greater compliance (devoted to) vehicles that aren’t using the XV pass [a dedicated pass for border bubble residents], He said.
“But even with an XV pass you can still be stopped. “The first two days on the border will be quite challenging.”
New international airport’s major milestone
The first ever plane has touched down at the country’s newest airport with preparations underway to ensure the grand opening is a success.
China launches flight to major Aussie city
A Chinese airline company has just announced new direct flights connecting mainland China with a major Aussie city.
Massive changes at Aussie airport unveiled
A video shows how drastically different it will be travelling through a major Australian airport within a few years.