Australia and New Zealand have agreed to open a long awaited travel bubble from April 19, allowing citizens to travel to the other country without mandatory quarantine.
Since October, Australia had already allowed a one-way travel bubble for New Zealand citizens to travel to the country, but this was not reciprocated due to a number of outbreaks in Australia.
On Tuesday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern said that Australians will be allowed to travel quarantine free as of 11:59pm, April 18. However, she warned people that they have to be prepared that their travel plans could change at short notice, including landing and going into hotel quarantine.
“Those undertaking travel on either side of the ditch will do so under the guidance of flyer beware,” said Adern.
“People will need to plan for the possibility of travel being disrupted if there is an outbreak.”
The announcement is welcome news for New Zealand’s tourism industry, which went from nearly a million tourists in 2019 to virtually zero in 2020.
New Zealand travel bubble to allow Australians to fly overseas later this month (ABC News)
