Woohoo, the news we’ve all been waiting for; New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has given the green light for a trans-Tasman travel bubble by March 2021.
Christmas has indeed come early with delightful news just in that NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has agreed to establish a trans-Tasman bubble with Australia early next year.
The bubble will open in the first quarter of 2021, as long as COVID-19 case levels stay low, and it’s approval by the Federal Government.
What’s the deal?
The decision comes after Queensland & WA finally opened their borders to NSW and VIC, allowing the rest of Australia to be united once more.
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At the weekend, New Zealand also announced a similar travel bubble with the Cook Islands, allowing people to travel between the countries without the need to quarantine.
Currently, Australia is open to New Zealand Travellers, with only WA enforcing a 14 day quarantine period. However, Australians are not yet allowed into New Zealand and all returning Kiwi travellers are required to enter a 14 day quarantine on arrival back from Austalia.
The 2021 Trans-Tasman travel bubble is set to drop these quarantine requirements.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said “it is our intention to name a date… in the new year once remaining details are locked down,” and also confirmed that there will be contingencies in place to protect New Zealand in case there was another outbreak in Australia.
These outbreak contingencies could include returning travellers to self-isolate when they arrive home or arrangements to have potentially thousands of New Zealanders on flights home as soon as possible… But hopefully, it won’t get to that point.
Airlines are expected to start preparing schedules, planes, and crew, ready to take to the international skies once more.
So now, it’s time to get excited and say KIA ORA to the Trans-Tasman bubble!
More to follow.