Australia and New Zealand were among the first to form a “travel bubble” in the Covid-19 era. This allowed travelers from each country to go back and forth due to the protocols each country had implemented. However, this travel bubble has burst and new protocols will be in place for at least 8 weeks.
Australia – New Zealand Travel Bubble Burst
Australia has had some of the most strict lockdown conditions since Covid-19 started. They even denied entry to some of their own citizens at one point and their reopening plan does not appear that foreigners from around the world will be accepted until 2024.
A while back, Australia and New Zealand had formed a travel bubble that allowed their citizens to go between the two countries without needing to quarantine and this was the first of several such bubbles that began to appear around the globe.
Yet, their strict lockdown procedures and quarantine protocols were not enough to keep the viral count as low as they wanted. In several areas of Australia, the Delta variant of the virus is causing positive case numbers to spike.
Because of that, New Zealand has decided to halt the travel from Australians for a period of at least 8 weeks. In the meantime, New Zealanders have until July 30 to return to New Zealand and those returning will require proof of a negative test. If travelers arrive from Sydney, they will need to observe a government-mandated two week quarantine.
Quarantine Free Travel between Australia and New Zealand is paused until at least 24 September 2021, with New Zealand residents permitted to return home up to Friday 30 July.
— Qantas (@Qantas) July 23, 2021
After July 31, flights between the two countries will be mostly canceled with the exception of a few flights for cargo and those that are deemed “essential” travelers.
I would imagine that this, though the first, will not be the last of the travel corridors that begin to face restrictions as numbers start to spike again in many places where governments had thought the overall number was in a safe/green zone.
The difficult part is for those that are stuck in a place where such a ban or restriction is enforced with little lead time. In such instances, getting out of that country and back home can be problematic and expensive, especially if the country the traveler is returning to as a protocol in place for testing before travel.
