Travellers take flight as COVID-19 bans are lifted

Narrabri couple Cecile and Kenoes van Lill had their bags packed and were ready to go when the Australia-New Zealand travel restrictions were lifted on Monday.

The couple boarded their flight to Waipukurau, the largest town in the Central Hawke’s Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, on Monday night.

“We were ready,” said Cecile.

Like the approximately 5000 plus travellers who took off for New Zealand on Monday, they are excited to be catching up with family.

“We haven’t seen our new grandson, the son of Dewet and Stacey van Lill, in New Zealand in 18 months,” said Cecile.

The launch of the quarantine free travel has been welcomed by many.

“The flights opened on Thursday and we booked very quickly,” said Cecile as they welcomed their house minder and climbed into the car for their trip to the airport.

The van Lills are familiar with New Zealand – they lived there for three years.

The family catch up is also the opportunity for a holiday and the van Lills will set off in a campervan for a two week trip around the scenic New Zealand countryside.

The couple found a busy Sydney airport when they arrived to meet their aircraft, with thousands of travellers queuing to board planes and fly south.

The resumption of normal services is hailed as a ‘historic’ international first by the New Zealand and Australian prime ministers.

For the Australian travel industry, which has been hit hard by the travel restrictions, the ‘New Zealand bubble’ is very welcome.

And for the New Zealand tourism industry the resumption of the inflow of Australian visitors will be a vital injection of money.

But the tourism dollars do not all flow down south – New Zealand visitors to Australia are also a major source of income for the industry.

“It is truly exciting to start quarantine-free travel with Australia,” said NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

“Be it returning family, friends or holiday makers, New Zealand says ‘welcome and enjoy yourself’.”

“The travel across the Tasman demonstrates our special relationship and the long history of freedom of movement between Australia and New Zealand,” said Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Fulfilment of our commitment will allow many friends and family across the Tasman to re-unite for the first time in over a year.

Our countries share a Single Economic Market, and two-way travel across the Tasman will help drive the economic recovery for both countries while we continue to navigate the COVID-19 global pandemic, especially in the travel and tourism sectors.

It will also enable closer trans-Tasman business engagement, which will drive broader economic activity in both Australia and New Zealand.

“Today’s milestone is a win-win for Australians and New Zealanders, boosting our economies while keeping our people safe and just in time for ANZAC Day,” Mr Morrison said.

“Both countries have done a remarkable job in protecting our communities from COVID and two-way flights are an important step in our road out.”