Australia reopens borders to the world for the first time in 702 days

It’s been almost two years since Australia locked out the world. But from today, our skies will look a little different.

It’s the day the world — and especially tourism operators and airlines around Australia — have been waiting almost two years for.

‘Fortress Australia’ has finally reopened international borders to vaccinated tourists without quarantine requirements for the first time since 9pm on Friday March 20, 2020.

Since November, the federal government has gradually reopened to select visa holders, international students and backpackers — but from Monday February 21 — international tourists, business travellers, family and friends will be welcomed back to Australia once again without needing to spend time in a quarantine facility upon arrival.

It’s the reopening Australia — and tourism operators around the country — have been eagerly waiting for.

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After almost two years, Australia has reopened for tourists once again. Picture: Richard Walker

“It’s fair to say we’ve all been waiting a long time to welcome visitors back to Australia,” Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said.

“The thousands of international tourists arriving this week and many more over the coming months will help kickstart the tourism industry which has done it tough for the past couple of years.

“We’re in this position today thanks to the millions of Australians who rolled up their sleeves to get the jab and give the Australian Government and state and territory governments’ confidence that we can safely reopen to the world.

“We can clearly see from the Australian Government’s announcement that people are very keen to come back to Australia, and we continue to see strong bookings out of the US and UK, as well as South Africa and Canada.”

Speaking on Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the “the wait is over”, but the border closure played an “incredibly important” role in keeping deaths down across Australia and protecting the economy from the pandemic.

“Tourists are coming back,” he said.

“That means those jobs become more certain going forward.

“Those earnings start to roll back into the country again and we start building up again as we push through this pandemic and we come out confidently on the other side.”

Amanda Moss and Cindy Moss embrace on arrival at Sydney's International Airport on February 21, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. Australia is welcoming fully-vaccinated international travellers for the first time since closing its borders to all non-citizens and non-residents in March 2020 to limit the spread of COVID-19. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Australians and foreign tourists will not need a booster to enter Australia. Travellers, however, will still be required to have had two doses of an approved Covid-19 vaccine.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney International Airport will have 27 overseas flights land on the first day of opening – including five from Singapore, four from Los Angeles and two each from Auckland, Vancouver and Tokyo.

The border reopening comes just days after Western Australia’s premier Mark McGowan announced the state’s hard border will come down on March 3, acknowledging that sealing off the state has become “ineffective” in the face of a surging local outbreak.

The state’s reopening will happen nearly 700 days after WA first sealed itself off from other states in April 2020.

Overseas holiday-makers will be allowed into Australia once again. Charlotte Roempke greets her grandfather Bernie Edmonds as he arrives at Sydney's International Airport on February 21, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Aussies hoping to get overseas and back without having to quarantine will be required to have an International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate from the MyGov portal.

The only restraint on vaccinated arrivals into Australia on February 21 will be that states will require international travellers who are fully vaccinated to take a Covid-19 test (PCR or RAT) within 24 hours of arriving at their accommodation or home.

The holiday-maker must isolate at their own accommodation until receiving a negative test result, which may be as little as 15 minutes if a RAT is used. Return travellers are encouraged to stay away from high-risk settings for a further seven days.

New South Wales and Victoria, who have introduced a range of easements to Covid-19 restrictions, will still demand unvaccinated travellers quarantine in an accredited hotel, but the time period has been reduced for 14 days to seven.

Unvaccinated visa holders will still need a valid travel exemption to enter Australia.

Experts say the restart of international travel will take longer than expected. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

With tourism was one of the fastest growing sectors in Australia’s economy prior to the pandemic, experts believe the restart of international arrivals will be slower than expected.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Airports Association chief executive James Goodwin the bounce-back won’t “look anywhere near pre-pandemic levels” for some time.

“We can expect over the coming weeks numbers will ramp up as confidence grows”, Mr Goodwin said.

“We would hope to see at least a doubling of passenger numbers in the next six months, so it is important Australia is seen as a holiday destination again.”

Qantas and Jetstar have reintroduced a string of international routes, with many to kick off on March 1 including:

Melbourne to Honolulu (Jetstar) – From 1 March

Sydney to Honolulu (Jetstar) – From 3 March

Melbourne to Denpasar (Jetstar) – From 14 March

Sydney to Denpasar (Jetstar) – From 15 March

Brisbane to Singapore – From 27 March

Sydney to Manila – From 27 March

Sydney to Denpasar – From 28 March

Darwin to Dili – From 30 March

Brisbane to Los Angeles – From 1 April