Australia And New Zealand apos;s apos;Tasman Travel Bubble apos; Will Soon Open
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'Tasman travel bubble' flights between Australia and [/news/new_zealand/index.html New Zealand] could begin as early as July.
The first international flights since March are set to go between Canberra and Wellington Airports on July 1 and July 2.
Both Australia and NZ closed their borders to international visitors in mid-March to stop the spread of [/news/coronavirus/index.html COVID-19] from overseas.
Only politicians, business people and journalists will board the first return flight, but the route is expected to open up to the public once more are scheduled.
Australians interested in flying to NZ next month can register their interest on the Canberra Airport website from Thursday.
'It's time to reboot your 2020 travel plans,' the airport website currently reads.
The Canberra-Wellington route will be tested for a few weeks before flights are extend to other Australian and New Zealand cities such as Sydney and Auckland.
International arrivals in Sydney before PM Scott Morrison banned overseas travel in March. The first 'Tasman sri lanka travel bubble' flights are set to go between Canberra and Wellington Airports on July 1 and July 2
The ACT has gone one month with no new cases of COVID-19 while New Zealand has gone 12 days without a case.
Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said the Australian and NZ capitals are the safest cities to resume international travel.
'This would be the opening of the bubble,' Mr Byron told [ ].
'All of the staff at the airport and all of the services in the international terminal... won't have seen any other international passengers for at least three weeks by the time this flight arrives.'
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Currently, international arrivals in both Australia and NZ are required to self-isolate for 14 days at home or in a hotel.
But Mr Byron said this would be scrapped for Australians and Kiwis travelling between the two countries as part of the travel bubble.
The airport chief executive said he expects a 'huge demand' for the route and that Qantas and Air New Zealand will each run one flight per day.
'We know there is a backlog of people on both sides of the ditch that want to reunite with family,' Mr Byron said.
'People that have lost their jobs on both sides of the Tasman and need to re-organise their living arrangement... then there is the holidaymakers.'
Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said Canberra Airport (left) and Wellington Airport (right) are the safest places in Australia and NZ to resume international travel
Mr Byron expects flight prices to be 'relatively normal' despite the demand.
'Indeed you want to make it competitive and attractive,' he said.
Passengers will be able to travel around once they land but would have to follow local restrictions, including state border closures in Australia.
Under current restrictions, if a Kiwi landed in Canberra they would not be able to enter Queensland or WA due to border closures.
Trade and Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said he wants the trans-Tasman bubble to begin 'as soon as possible'.
'I am confident that both Australia and New Zealand will be ready and willing to progress as soon as the health advice allows and all necessary safeguards are in place,' Mr Birmingham told[ ].
ACCI executive chair of tourism John Hart said both countries urgently need to start the bubble to keep businesses afloat.
'Businesses are wanting to escalate the Australia-New Zealand bubble because it's just not happening fast enough to keep them in business,' Mr Hart told The Australian.
'We're not seeing domestic movements pick up quick enough, so we need the bubble to get the tourism activity.'
Trade and Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham (right) said he wants the trans-Tasman bubble to begin 'as soon as possible'
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is set to propose the Canberra-Wellington travel route on Thursday.
All Australian passengers would be pre-tested for COVID-19 when boarding a flight to NZ under the proposal, which has been backed by the Wellington, Auckland and Canberra chambers of commerce.
New Zealanders arriving in Australia would be told to download the government's COVIDSafe app, which tracks coronavirus cases.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the ACCI for comment.
After more than 1.5 million Australians crossed the ditch last year, New Zealand is struggling without its largest source of visitors.
Prior to the pandemic, only 20 per cent of Australians wanted to travel within Oceania, which included NZ.
But when international travel bans are lifted, 38 per cent of Aussie travellers said they want to travel to NZ, according to the Anne Wild and Associates study.
While NZ has not recorded a new COVID-19 case in the last 12 days, Australia recorded eight new cases on Wednesday - seven in Victoria and one in WA.
An Air New Zealand flight lands in Wellington. A survey of Australian travellers revealed that the number of people wanting to visit NZ have at least doubled
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