First ‘no-quarantine’ flights arrive into Australia

Hundreds of New Zealand plane passengers started arriving in Sydney on Friday as part of a new trans-Tasman travel bubble amid a rapidly falling growth rate in cases at the epicentre of Australia’s coronavirus outbreak.

In a tentative re-opening to international tourism, travellers on the approved flights won’t be required to quarantine in Sydney, authorities said.

The arrangements, however, are not yet reciprocal, with New Zealand requiring arrivals to be quarantined for two weeks under supervision at the cost of NZ$3,100 ($2,045) for the first person and more for additional family members.

Around 90 percent of those travelling on Friday with Air New Zealand are booked to travel one-way, the airline said.

New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she hoped New Zealand would loosen restrictions on people arriving from Australia shortly.

“It is an important first step in bringing back international travel and we hope that Prime Minister (Jacinda) Ardern returns the favour in the near future,” said Berejiklian, referring to the New Zealand leader.

There was one new case of community transmission in New South Wales in the past 24 hours, Berejiklian said, while adding that she would like to announce a further easing of restrictions next week if the case count remains low.