Flights from Hobart to Adelaide could resume in a matter of weeks

Flights between Hobart and mainland destinations could resume within a matter of weeks, with no measures in place to stop interstate travel once on the ground. WHERE WE COULD GO >>

FLIGHTS from Hobart to Adelaide could resume within weeks as the Tasmanian and South Australian governments look to establish a mini travel bubble.

Premier Peter Gutwein held talks with his South Australian counterpart about plans for a ‘safe city pair’ between the two states on Monday.

Qantas has also not ruled out establishing direct flights for the first time between Hobart and Canberra after Mr Gutwein confirmed he is in talks with the ACT about a travel bubble.

A spokeswoman would not be drawn on specific routes but said: “Qantas will be looking to add flights when and where we see demand in coming weeks subject to borders opening and travel restrictions lifted”.

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It comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern are also set to be handed the tourism industry’s plan to establish a ‘trans-Tasman travel bubble’ later this week.

Mr Gutwein yesterday acknowledged a travel bubble with the ACT could make Canberra a ‘backdoor’ for Sydney and Melbourne.

“We’ll work through that,” he said.

“At this stage, there isn’t a clear answer to that because that’s obviously one issue of concern.”

Mr Gutwein added that he’d had talks with the South Australian Premier about “the option of looking at a direct link into Adelaide as well”.

“There’s certainly interest around the country in ensuring when it’s safe to do so that the borders can come down,” he said.

But the premier added: “We will not remove our border restrictions until it’s safe to do so.”

Canberra Airport chief Stephen Byron said the three-hour travel time between Canberra and Sydney would limit risks with the plan. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said the three-hour drive between Canberra and Sydney would limit the risk, as would starting with just one flight per day between Hobart and the ACT.

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It would be akin to reopening pubs for just a handful of customers first, he told the Mercury.

Mr Byron advised against banning NSW residents and letting only ACT residents on the flights, or banning Tasmanians from travelling to NSW if they went to Canberra.

“I think this could happen at some point in July,” Mr Byron said of the travel bubble.

“If the Premier in Tasmania is looking at reopening in September, then there is a place for this possibly four to eight weeks prior.”

It would allow authorities to examine how the incremental reopening of borders impacted COVID-19 cases in Tasmania before they fully lifted the mainland travel ban.