Covid 19 coronavirus: historic New Zealand border closure six months later

By Gill Bonnet of RNZ

Today marks six months since the New Zealand border was closed for the first time in its history.

International airports crammed with overcrowded check-in counters were deserted within days, and car parks, shops and corridors are now almost empty.

Travelers looking at the Auckland Airport departure board today will see just nine flights out of the country.

Arrivals are made on just seven planes: three from Australia and one from Los Angeles, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Rarotonga.

No one can enter the international terminal without a ticket, which means there are no joyous gatherings with returning friends and family. Passengers leaving the country sit in a transit lounge until their flight is called and they are taken to the plane by bus.

While Christchurch and Wellington airports are increasingly busy with domestic flights, international flights have practically come to a halt.

One day in May, for the first time since international travel took off, New Zealand returned to the remote islands that they once were: no one left or entered the country.

Historic border closure

On March 19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the border would be closed to non-New Zealanders and residents beginning at midnight that night.

For New Zealand, closing the border was historic and life-changing for many.

New Zealanders who rushed to buy tickets were informed of canceled flights and passengers sobbed in airport waiting areas.

RNZ reporter Chen Liu went to Auckland Airport the next morning when the exhausted travelers who had received tickets arrived.

“There were visitors who shortened their trips to New Zealand to leave the country due to the uncertainty that arose with the announcement of the border,” he said.

“There were also New Zealanders who returned home earlier than the scheduled date, as other countries also announced border closures. A girl had a work and vacation visa in Canada and her parents flew to the United States to meet her and go on a trip. to Canada … But they couldn’t go beyond the United States because the border was closed to foreigners, so the whole family had to return to New Zealand. “

They were greeted by health officials who interviewed them to make sure they were complying with the self-isolation rules.

The number of passengers dropped 97%

In February this year, 562,076 people arrived and 518,275 left New Zealand.

In the six months from March 19 to September 19, only a fraction of those numbers have traveled. Auckland Airport says there have been some 150,000 passengers on 6,400 international flights. The number of flights is down almost 80 percent in the same six-month period last year and the number of passengers is down 97 percent.

In April came the first day that no one arrived in the country. There were 6,385 arrivals during the month and 31,896 departures. Daily numbers rebounded from single-digit arrivals to 2,000 departures.

On May 25, a news came: no one left or arrived in New Zealand that day.

More (10,111) left and fewer (5,577) arrived that month, some on repatriation flights organized by their governments and ours.

By June, that had risen to 14,864 departures and 9162 arrivals. In July, most days, a few hundred people were heading in both directions; arrivals were roughly the same, but departures had increased to 18,195.

Those left on the wrong side of the borders

People stuck in the wrong country when borders were closed and flight connections were scarce had horror stories. Some needed repatriation flights and others got them.

And then there were the stranded in New Zealand, who had been on vacation or lost their job, some couldn’t find flights, some couldn’t afford them.

Other stories came from visa holders who were on vacation or visiting relatives when the border was closed, some from couples or parents with loved ones locked up abroad.

The panic of rushing to buy tickets or get to the airport in March quickly turned to dismay and depression.

Six months later, after some waivers of the border restrictions for labor and humanitarian reasons, stories of lives shattered by the ongoing border closure still abound.

The district health board administrator, Zee Pathan, 36, was in India visiting his sick mother with her husband Muz and their 6-year-old daughter Zaaha.

“These six months have been the most stressful period of my life,” he said this week.

“I have lost count of the number of rejections I have received from INZ.

“Zaaha will be seven years old next month and her only wish is to celebrate her birthday with her friends from school. Her schooling has suffered because all schools are closed here in India and online education is not possible because schools are not accepting. new inscriptions.

“Covid is spreading like wildfire and I feel so insecure. I always thought this would all be solved in a few months, but it seems like there is no end.”

One of the many requests he made for a waiver was approved by a case officer, only to be rejected by a senior manager. She does not qualify for the last extension for foreigners who are allowed to pass through the border, because she has a post-study work visa.

“Last week, the immigration minister announced some relief for some visa holders who have essential skills and work-to-residence visas. The criteria state that the person needs to continue to have their job and must have dependent children who previously attended schools in New Zealand.

“I meet these two criteria but my visa category does not match. I do not understand why this discrimination – we have earned this visa by investing thousands of dollars in our education. We have contributed in a dual way by paying taxes as well.

“At least let the people who still have their jobs intact come back. Canterbury DHB has been very supportive and extended my leave without pay until January, but if I don’t return by then my contract will be terminated. my house, I am paying partial rent to my landlord and he has been very cooperative in waiting until I return. All my personal belongings, especially my education certificates, are with a close friend. “

Some of his friends were able to return as they had work visas to residence or partners in New Zealand.

For her, the uncertainty and pain are unbearable.

“But I’m surviving just because of my daughter,” he said. “I have not given up hope yet and I will keep fighting.”