New Zealand - Australia Travel Bubble Effective April 19, Starting In Trans-Tasman

Illustration of Auckland Airport, New Zealand. (Wikimedia Commons / Nick-D)

JAKARTA - New Zealand has officially announced the implementation of a travel bubble with Australia. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the provisions of the quarantine-free travel bubble would take effect from 19 April. The journey will start on Trans-Tasman.

"The Trans-Tasman travel bubble is the beginning of a new chapter in the COVID-19 response and recovery, the result of the hard work of our people," he told reporters in the New Zealand capital Wellington on Tuesday 6 April.

He said the decision was taken after the two countries reassured that the control of COVID-19 remained under control, even though the quarantine and travel bubbles were relaxed.

The move to allow cross-border travel without compulsory testing for COVID-19, is one of the first agreements since the pandemic prompted countries to block foreign arrivals to stop the spread of the virus.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the agreement the first of many more steps to come.

"When we return to a more normal position, not only during this year, but afterwards," said Prime Minister Morrison.

Illustration of Air New Zealand airline. (Wikimedia Commons / Phillip Capper)

About 568,000 New Zealand-born people live in Australia, according to 2018 figures. This equates to 2.3 percent of Australia's population and is Australia's fourth largest migrant community.

Meanwhile, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Australian visits to New Zealand reached 1.5 million people or around 40 percent of total arrivals in 2019, contributing to revenue of 1.9 billion United States dollars.

With this opening, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden estimates the arrival rate is 80 percent of that level by the beginning of 2022.

"Tourism operators can now take bookings with confidence and increase their staffing numbers," said Chris Roberts, CEO of New Zealand's travel industry body Tourism Industry Aotearoa.

Several provisions remain to be considered in the application of this travel bubble. Ardern said flights to and from several Australian states could still be suspended if there was a local outbreak.

All travelers must still wear a mask on board, and carry out contact tracing in New Zealand. These travel bubble conditions do not apply to people transiting through Australia from other countries.

Air New Zealand Ltd and Qantas Airways Ltd, the two main carriers of New Zealand and Australia, said they would increase flights between the two countries by more than 70 percent over the pre-pandemic stage.