The Travel Bubble: Here’s Everything You Need To Know

Isaac Taylor

Every time a travel bubble has been even considered for a moment, someone has literally exploded because they’re so full of Covid, starting a new cluster and putting a kibosh on the whole thing.

But not this time, Jacinda Ardern has announced that the Australia/New Zealand travel bubble will be opening Monday 19 April.

Potential Future Lockdowns

“Quarantine free travel will not be what it was pre-Covid-19, and those undertaking travel will do so under the guidance of ‘flyer beware’. People will need to plan for the possibility of having travel disrupted if there is an outbreak.” Ardern warned.

“Just as we have our alert level settings for managing cases in New Zealand, we will also now have a framework for managing New Zealanders in the event of an outbreak in Australia, which involves three possible scenarios: continue, pause, suspend.”

Australians Entering NZ

There are however restrictions on people that have had Covid, although this announcement won’t be affecting a whole lot of us here in Aotearoa.

“To be eligible to travel to or from New Zealand on a quarantine-free flight, people must not have had a positive Covid-19 test result in the previous 14-day period and must not be awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test taken during that 14-day period,” Chris Hipkins said.

On the other hand things are going to be a lot more stringent for Auzzies coming into the country.

“When those in Australia decide to come to New Zealand, they will be making a booking on a green zone flight. That means that there will be no passengers on that flight who have come from anywhere but Australia in the last 14 days. They will also be flown by crew who have not flown on any high risk routes for a set period of time.

“Passengers will need to provide comprehensive information on how they can be contacted while in New Zealand, complete a pre-departure health declaration and won’t be able to travel if they have cold or flu symptoms.

“When they fly, they will be required to wear a mask on their flight, and will also be asked to download and use the NZ COVID Tracer app while in New Zealand.

“We will also be undertaking random temperature checks of those arriving as an added precaution.” Hipkins said.

So what should you do in Australia? Fortunately we’re well ahead of you. Here’s 15 places you should check out ASAP.