Qantas lands in New Zealand after 12 months

At 23:59 LT last Saturday, a ‘Trans-Tasmanian Bubble’ opened to allow travelers between countries in the Tasmanian region to travel without restrictions, so after 40 minutes, Airbus A330-300 from Qantas In Auckland, the capital of New Zealand. Usually, a road has been closed as demand between the two countries has risen over the past 12 months due to the pandemic.

After 12 months of travel restrictions between the two countries, this first exempt flight operated with the Qantas A330 was, apparently, still without passengers, but a flight to recruit airline personnel, including the crew. Another flight departed from Sydney Sunday night, this time in a Boeing 737-800.

The massive movement of travelers between the two countries is expected to start on Monday, in fact, the news outlet Solton News It has already been dubbed “Mega Monday,” as at least 13 flights from Air New Zealand, Qantas and Jetstar Sydney will depart for Auckland, Queenstown, Christchurch and Wellington during the day, from 06:15 to 19:00 local time. JetStar’s will be the first quarantine-free flight to arrive in New Zealand.

The Prime Minister of AustraliaAnd the Scott Morrison, Commented on the bubble via Tasman that opened:

The idea that everything will open up again one day is not how it will happen, it must be done very carefully; I work hard with medical protections because I will not endanger the way Australians live today. “

Hope for an early reopening, free for all, was given a bucket of ice water when health problems were discovered possibly related to the AstraZeneca vaccine, endangering the global vaccination program, and slowing down how quickly people could receive it. .