Air New Zealand flights hint at when trans-Tasman travel bubble with Australia will start

With Jacinda Ardern’s update expected tomorrow, flights provide a clue as to when the quarantine-free travel corridor will open.

Air New Zealand aeroplanes outside the international terminal, at Wellington International airport. Picture: AFP

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to announce the start date of a trans-Tasman bubble tomorrow, which could see the travel corridor between the two countries open as early as this Friday.

Air New Zealand is already offering daily flights between Auckland and Sydney, as well as Auckland and Melbourne from Friday April 9 - hinting at a potential start date.

The bubble will allow Australians and New Zealanders to travel between the two countries without having to undertake hotel quarantine at either end.

The prospect of a travel bubble has been intermittently discussed since the beginning of the pandemic last year, with politicians and health officials suggesting that the containment of COVID-19 in both countries meant there is a low risk of transmission, permitting safe quarantine-free travel.

While travellers from New Zealand could enter some Australian states without having to undertake hotel quarantine, this was only a one-way arrangement, requiring returning passengers to New Zealand from Australia to complete, and pay for, 14 days of managed isolation.

The trans-Tasman bubble removes this requirement.

Following a number of abortive attempts to secure the bubble, Ms Ardern said her government was confident it would soon be given a firm start date.

Last month Ms Ardern said a number of concerns needed to be resolved before the bubble could be implemented, citing potential for outbreaks, issues with contact tracing and transiting passengers as the major barriers.

Air New Zealand is also planning to launch its new route to coincide with the opening of the travel bubble, offering flights between Auckland and Hobart.

Qantas and Jetstar are also preparing to ramp up flights in time for the bubble’s opening.

Ms Ardern has said there will be no vaccine requirement for the travel under the trans-Tasman bubble.

Regarding travel into different Australian states, Ms Ardern said New Zealand will be taking a state-by-state approach, indicating only some states will be included in the bubble.

New Zealanders can currently enter New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory without having to quarantine, but not Western Australia.