Australia – New Zealand Travel Bubble Set to Resume with Conditions

The one-way travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia is back. The Australian government has lifted its pause on the resumption of non-quarantine flights from New Zealand. This is good news for embattled airlines and their passengers.

Australia initially suspended non-quarantine travel from New Zealand in late January following a small outbreak of COVID-19 in Auckland. But following a meeting with New Zealand public health officials on Saturday, the Australian government said “green zone” flights could resume between New Zealand and Australia from 12 a.m. 01 AEDT Sunday 21 February.

Flights in “green zone” resume, with a condition

What is a flight in a green zone? He refers to the zones created at airports in Australia and New Zealand to separate passengers arriving on a flight whose passengers can skip quarantine and those who cannot. Currently, only a certain number of flights from New Zealand are considered green zone flights. Everyone, on a red zone flight, must enter a 14-day quarantine regime, usually at a government-mandated hotel.

There is a condition for resuming these flights in the green zone. All passengers traveling from New Zealand on a Green Zone flight, who have been in Auckland for any period (except transit through Auckland Airport) within the last 14 days, will be required to provide the proof on registration of a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours of the flight’s scheduled departure The Australian government has also said routine pre-departure and arrival checks will continue.

Only three airlines offer service on the Tasman Sea

Air New Zealand currently operates the majority of flights between New Zealand and Australia. The airline typically operates three flights per week to Brisbane and four or five services per week to Sydney. These flights are a mixture of green zone and red zone services. No Air New Zealand flights to Melbourne are currently carrying passengers. Melbourne Airport has once again temporarily stopped receiving international passengers due to ongoing quarantine management issues.

Australian airline Qantas operates around three services per week between Auckland and Sydney using A330-300 aircraft. Jetstar operates a weekly service between Auckland and Sydney. The three-hour and forty-minute flight takes place every Tuesday by A320-200.

Since the end of last year, the travel bubble between New Zealand has been operating in one direction. Most of the Kiwis were able to enter Australia and bypass quarantine requirements. However, New Zealand has so far refused to reciprocate. That should change next month when the long-awaited two-way travel bubble begins.

A two-way travel bubble that will trigger in March

If this comes to fruition, it will be a welcome boost for the three airlines that are currently running their exhausted services across the Tasman Sea.

In 2019, Australian government statistics reveal that 7,845,243 passengers flew between New Zealand and Australia, or vice versa, that year. Several airlines, including Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand, LATAM, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and China Airlines, offered 47,555 flights through the Tasman that year.

2020 was shaping up to be another exceptional year for these airlines. But COVID-19 put an end to it. Air traffic and passenger traffic on routes between Australia and New Zealand were a small fraction of 2019 levels. The long-awaited two-way bubble will go a long way in boosting passenger traffic across the Tasman Sea. Airlines and their passengers are hoping the deal will stand despite the inevitable next small outbreak of COVID.