Wellington, April 13 (BNA) New Zealand welcomed hundreds of travelers from Australia with emotional scenes on Wednesday as it opened its borders to its neighbor through Tasmania for the first time since mid-2021.
Māori cultural performers greeted travelers as families and friends cuddled and cried at Auckland International Airport (AIA.NZ) as two flights from Australia landed this morning. Those waiting in the arrival hall held up placards that read “Hello & Kia Ora & G’day & Welcome”.
“Just so, so excited to be back, and all I really want to do is really spend time with the family,” Jane Cheesman told the New Zealand Herald, where she was reunited with her two children with her sister ahead of the Easter holiday.
New Zealand has had some of the toughest restrictions in the world during the pandemic and has closed its borders most of the time since March 2020, except for a short-lived travel bubble with Australia last year that was suspended after a few months due to the COVID-19 spread. Read more
But the government has begun to relax these increasingly unpopular measures, hoping to boost tourism and ease a labor shortage now that Omicron has proliferated locally.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Australia’s Channel Seven she was “very excited” about the reopening.
“I really can’t imagine or remember a time when we were so excited to welcome our Australian family to our shores. It’s so real,” she added.
Air New Zealand (AIR.NZ) said it was operating almost 11 flights from Australia on Wednesday.
“This is the first step in welcoming international visitors to our shores and we couldn’t be more excited about both New Zealand and Air New Zealand,” said Lianne Geraghty, the airline’s chief customer and sales officer, in a statement.
Rules for travelers
Foreigners were previously barred from entering New Zealand, and until February, citizens wishing to return had to either submit emergency applications to the government or secure a place in government quarantine facilities.
Most travelers coming into the country are required to take pre-departure and arrival tests, while most foreigners are also required to have a full vaccination.
Tourists from visa-waiver Countries such as the United States, Britain and Singapore will be able to visit from May 1. The border will remain closed to all other visitors until October.
Chris Hepkins, the COVID-19 response minister, said restrictions in the country will be eased further as the number of new cases declines.
From Thursday, there will be no restrictions on the number of people attending indoor events, and there will be some easing in where masks are worn.
New Zealand, with a population of more than 5 million, has reported 9,542 new cases in the past 24 hours, well below the peak of more than 20,000 new cases per day. It has recorded only 497 deaths from COVID since the start of the outbreak.