News from ‘Down Under’

With flights planned between London and Darwin there is now hope for family travel ‘Down Under’ for the Christmas holiday period.

Commencing Friday 5 November, Qantas will start with two flights per week on Fridays and Sundays. From 1 December, this will ramp up to six flights per week to deliver Aussies home just in time for Christmas.

Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), will open up to fully vaccinated international travellers from 1 November without the need for quarantine.  Each of the Australian States has its own rules.

Australia closed its borders in March 2020 in response to the pandemic, allowing entry almost exclusively to citizens and permanent residents who were required to undergo a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine at their own expense.

“We need to rejoin the world. We can’t live here in hermit kingdom. We’ve got to open up,” NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet told reporters.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said earlier this month overseas travel would return once 80% of people in a particular state were fully vaccinated, but would be available initially for Australians and would require home quarantine.

As of last week in NSW, the number of people fully vaccinated has already reached 77.8%, while 91.4% have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Air New Zealand has added quarantine free flights from Auckland – Sydney for Australian citizens or permanent residents.

www.qantas.com

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