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There is confusion as to whether travelers who have come from New Zealand will be able to travel to Queensland without being quarantined. This comes after Air New Zealand told passengers heading to the Australian state this morning that they were not traveling on a quarantine-free flight.
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Karin du Plessis says she’s not sure whether her 70-year-old mother would need to quarantine her upon arrival. Source: 1 NEWS
Queensland confirmed yesterday that it would open its border to New Zealand visitors starting today, without requiring them to self-quarantine, if they meet certain requirements.
The first flight since the new waiver left Auckland at 10am today and is heading to Brisbane. According to the airline, its passengers may need to be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival because it was not a quarantine-free flight.
That caught Karin du Plessis, whose 70-year-old mother is on the flight, by surprise. His mother had come to New Zealand from South Africa and has stayed in New Zealand for the past 11 months.
“We don’t know anything, no. Yesterday morning, we woke up to the news that my mother might not have to quarantine. We hear the news that now everything is open borders,” du Plessis told 1 NEWS.
“We checked the Australian website … she has a green zone status, it just goes straight.
“And then this morning, we heard on the news last night that, no, they still need the quarantine. But, we haven’t heard anything.”
He said the situation was “very confusing” and “really stressful.”
“My mother is 70 years old. She is not young. My sister is on the other side, but she lives two hours from Brisbane.
“So are they going to look for her at the airport? Is she going to go into quarantine? We know absolutely nothing.”
Du Plessis said she didn’t care if her mother needed to self-quarantine. But he wanted some certainty so his family could plan for it.
Passenger Sally Aiturau is heading home to Brisbane on the flight and hopes to see her family at the airport. He has spent the last five weeks in New Zealand.
“I hope I don’t isolate myself … they mentioned there would be no quarantine,” he said.
“The impression is that there would be no [quarantine]. It was going to be for New Zealanders going to Brisbane, starting at 1 in the morning, without quarantine. So that to me says I can go right in and go home.
“And if there is [quarantine], then we just have to. But it would be a disappointment. “
Aiturau said the airport check-in staff did not mention anything about whether or not he would need to self-quarantine upon arrival.
What is a quarantine free flight?
In a Facebook post, Queensland Health said the new travel arrangement announced yesterday would apply to “anyone from New Zealand traveling on a quarantine-free flight can come to Queensland without the need to self-quarantine.”
According to Air New Zealand, passengers do not have to be New Zealand citizens to travel to Australia without being quarantined upon arrival. But, they would need to have a valid visa to enter Australia.
If a person does not meet the criteria for quarantine free flight, they will have to go through an isolation process administered upon arrival.
To be eligible to travel without quarantine, a person must have been in New Zealand for 14 days or more and not have been at a Covid-19 “designated access point.” They must also travel to Australia on a “quarantine free” flight. The Australian government defines a quarantine-free flight as one that only carries passengers who meet this criteria.
The airline determines whether a flight is free from quarantine or not.
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Travelers will no longer need to self-quarantine in Australia, but it is still required when returning to New Zealand. Source: 1 NEWS | Sky
An Air New Zealand spokesperson told 1 NEWS that the flight was not free from quarantine because “it takes a lot to get it up and running.”
“We also have to wait and hear that all agencies in Australia are satisfied with the processes in place to confidently accept quarantine-free flights.
“So, at this stage, the requirement remains that customers traveling on flights from Auckland to Brisbane are quarantined upon arrival.”
The spokesperson said the airline would not have more information to share until next week.
