The one-way bubble between New Zealand and Australia is back. The Australian government has lifted the pause on New Zealand’s quarantine-free flights being resumed. It is good news for the beleaguered airlines and their passengers.
Australia initially stopped New Zealand’s quarantine-free travel in late January after a small outbreak of COVID-19 in Auckland. But after a meeting with New Zealand public health officials on Saturday, the Australian government said flights from the “green zone” could resume between New Zealand and Australia starting at 12:01 am AEDT on Sunday, February 21.
Flights from the “green zone” are resumed, with a condition
What is a green zone flight? Refers to 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 selected number of New Zealand flights qualify as green zone flights. All others, on a red zone flight, must be in a 14-day quarantine regime, usually at a government-authorized hotel.
There is a condition for the resumption of these flights from the green zone. All passengers traveling from New Zealand on a green zone flight, who have been in Auckland for any period (except in transit at Auckland airport) in the last 14 days, must provide evidence upon check-in of a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours before the scheduled flight departure. The Australian government also stated that routine screening before departure and arrival would continue.
Only three airlines operate services in the Tasman Sea
Air New Zealand is currently making most flights between New Zealand and Australia. The airline generally operates three weekly flights to Brisbane and four or five weekly flights to Sydney. These flights are a mix of green and red zone services. Air New Zealand flights to Melbourne are not currently carrying passengers. Melbourne Airport has once again temporarily stopped receiving international passengers due to ongoing quarantine management problems.
Australian airline Qantas is operating about three services a week between Auckland and Sydney using A330-300 aircraft. Jetstar is operating one service a week between Auckland and Sydney. The three-hour and forty-minute flight runs every Tuesday in A320-200 aircraft.
Since the end of last year, the travel bubble between New Zealand has operated unilaterally. Most kiwis managed to enter Australia and bypass quarantine requirements. However, New Zealand has so far refused to return the favor. That should change next month, when the long-awaited round trip bubble is set to begin.
A bidirectional travel bubble scheduled to go ahead in March
If that happens, it will be a welcome boost for the three airlines that currently operate their worn services in the Tasman Sea.
In 2019, Australian government statistics reveal 7,845,243 passengers who 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 on Tasman that year.
2020 seemed to be another excellent year for these airlines. But COVID-19 ended that. Airline and passenger traffic on routes between Australia and New Zealand occurred at a small fraction of the 2019 levels. The long-awaited two-way travel bubble will go a long way in restarting passenger traffic in the Tasman Sea again . The airlines and their passengers expect the business to continue despite the next small outbreak of COVID.