Opening of the border in Australia: hugs and kisses at the airport

On Monday, Australia reopened its international borders to citizens and people residing Down Under for the first time in 20 months. This eliminates the complicated special permits and the costly 14-day hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated people.

The relaxations apply to those arriving in the states of New South Wales and Victoria as well as in the Australian Capital Territory with the capital Canberra, after 70 percent of the population there were vaccinated twice. Travel abroad from all over Australia is possible again.

Machines from Los Angeles, Singapore and Tokyo landed in Sydney. “There were a lot of people on the plane whose relatives are dying,” said Carly Boyd, who flew back home from the United States, to ABC.

Red roses at the airport

The Australian David Frisken came to Kingsford Smith International Airport in Sydney with two dozen red roses before he could hug his fiancée, who lives in South Korea, for the first time in almost two years. “Every day has been a struggle,” he said. Many relationships would not have survived the long separation caused by the pandemic.

Regional premiere Dominic Perrottet said November could not have started more positively. “Today is a day many people have been waiting for, and our high vaccination rates have allowed us to reopen in a safe and thoughtful manner.”

“Today some of the magic has returned to our arrivals lounges,” said airport general manager Geoff Culbert. Grandparents could have seen their grandchildren for the first time, families were reunited. “All of these scenes were missing for far too long,” he emphasized.

However, tourists are not yet allowed to travel down under. It is still unclear when this will be allowed again. Only trips from neighboring New Zealand to Australia are now possible again without the obligation to quarantine.

In April, the two island states created a bilateral corridor for quarantine-free travel – the “Trans-Tasman bubble”. However, this was initially suspended in July due to rising corona numbers in Australia.

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tib / DPA

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