Most Australian states will restore their international arrival caps to December 2020 levels from 15 February 2021, following a decision at Friday’s National Cabinet meeting. But Western Australia will retain its reduced arrival cap of just 512 passengers per week until further notice, as Perth emerges from a 5-day COVID-19 lockdown. From 15 February 2021, … Continued
Unprecedented cargo demand, fewer planes flying, limited staff availability and ever-changing border restrictions throughout the pandemic have wreaked havoc on freight shipments and postal delivery services worldwide. Some countries have even had to temporarily shut down international mail. So it’s no surprise that some international parcels are taking longer to arrive, or taking an unusual … Continued
Fraudsters have been targeting Australians with phishing emails claiming to be from Qantas, warning recipients not to let their “Coronavirus Relief Bonus go to waste”. There are various versions of the fake emails, which look somewhat genuine but have several telltale giveaways of a phishing scam. In 2020, these emails had subject lines including “Your … Continued
Update (22 January 2021): Emirates will reinstate flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from next week. It’s now January 2021, and there are still tens of thousands of Australians stuck overseas. Unfortunately for those Aussies, returning to Australia has just become even harder with super-connector Emirates withdrawing flights to most Australian cities and the Australian … Continued
Wearing a face mask is now mandatory on all domestic flights within Australia, following a decision by National Cabinet last week. Passengers and staff are also now required to wear a face mask in all Australian airports, including in airport lounges. Children under 12 years old are exempt from the requirement, as are people with … Continued
After a nightmare year, it seemed just one week ago that Australia was finally on track for all internal state borders to be reopened by Christmas. Until just a few days ago, there was only one remaining state border restriction in place, preventing South Australians from travelling to Western Australia. This was (and still is) … Continued
Australia’s international borders have been closed since March 2020, and will remain shut until at least 17 March 2021 after the human biosecurity emergency period was recently extended for another three months. But when will Australia finally reopen its international borders and allow Australians to travel overseas again without an exemption? The short answer is … Continued
After the “year from hell” which saw a pandemic shut down the travel industry and cause unspeakable suffering around the world, there’s finally some light at the end of the tunnel. There are currently many COVID-19 vaccine trials ongoing, and numerous of these are in their final stages. There’s still no 100% guarantee of a … Continued
With Australians still banned from leaving the country without a travel exemption, the international terminal at Sydney Airport is eeriely quiet at the moment. Most shops and lounges are closed, and just a handful of international flights are departing each day during the COVID-19 pandemic. But some people still need to travel, and there are … Continued
After months of lockdown, there’s finally some more good news for Melburnians! The lockdown is over, COVID-19 cases in Victoria are now extremely low, and Victorians will also soon be able to travel to NSW and the ACT once again. From 12.01am on Monday 23 November 2020, border restrictions between NSW and Victoria will be … Continued
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia have been waiving change fees on new bookings since early 2020. This is designed to give people confidence to book new flights despite borders continuously opening and closing during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, particularly for reward bookings made using frequent flyer points, Australia’s airlines have even been offering … Continued
EXCLUSIVE | If you’ve visited any Australian airport in the past six months, you’ve probably seen all the grounded Qantas and Virgin jets parked on the runways and taxiways. They’re a striking symbol of the pandemic that has shut down much of the travel and tourism industry… every grounded plane represents dozens of airline staff … Continued
