NRI Affairs Correspondent
Australians will be able to fly to New Zealand without quarantine for the first time in more than one year, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Tuesday 6 April 2021.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a two-way travel bubble with Australia is set to commence later this month.
“This is an important step forward in our COVID response and represents an arrangement I do not believe we have seen in any other part of the world,” Ms Ardern told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
The Trans Tasman bubble will begin on 19 April, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison could be among the first Australians to fly to New Zealand quarantine-free.
Travel to Australia has been largely open to New Zealand travellers, with a few brief suspensions between due to COVID outbreaks in Auckland. However, it is only now that New Zealand has decided to return the favour.
Ms Arden said the travel bubble flights would have a number of additional safety measures to reduce the risk of COVID slipping through, adding that a warning period before any future travel restrictions come into place would not be considered because the ability to move quickly needs to be preserved.
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