Dust off your passport and dig out your Kiwi currency: flights between Australia and New Zealand could resume as early as July under plans to open a ‘travel bubble’ between the two countries.
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today that both the Australian and New Zealand governments “are working to move on this as quickly as we can” on a proposal which would permit travel while also safeguarding against a flare-up in coronavirus cases imported from either side of the Tasman.
“We are both very keen on it … across both sides of the ditch,” Ardern said at a news conference. “It won’t be too long before we are ready.”
Government and airport officials, airlines and health specialists have been shaping the joint plan, which is expected to be tabled by the end of June, although it’s yet to be determined if travellers would require some form of ‘immunity passport’ such as a negative test for COVID-19.
“Our aim is to put forward a detailed set of recommendations that safely manage any health risks, while also allowing Kiwis and Australians to travel to each country without the need for a 14-day quarantine,” Scott Tasker, co-chair of the Trans-Tasman Safe Border Group, which is developing the plans, said in a statement.
Flights from July?
A timetable produced by the Tourism Restart Taskforce, which mets weekly with the Federal Government as it works towards restarting Australia’s flailing tourism industry, suggests that July would see flights to New Zealand from July, with travel to other “safe” countries from September.
“We are saying that New Zealand travel will definitely commence on July 1 and from 10 September we will consider whether other bubbles can commence,” stated John Hart, Chair of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.
The timetable remains an “aspirational” one and would require final approval from the Australian and New Zealand governments – but Hart stressed “we have done a lot of discussion with the NZ side and they are saying we are good to go.”
The task force has also proposed a special charter flight from Canberra to Wellington on July 1 carrying government officials, media and business representatives, without the need to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine.
“These two cities have had a very low incidence of COVID and several days and weeks with no cases, they are sister cities, capital cities and both hubs of business,” Hart said.
The neighbors have been discussing the possibility of a travel bubble between them as both have slowed the spread of the novel coronavirus to levels well below those in United States, Britain and some other European countries.
“Both countries have put in place measures that appear to be working at reducing COVID-19 infections and could get to a stage where it was considered by medical authorities safe to begin travel.”