Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[mviy]

VIC is trialling home quarantine for a week from October 27.

Victoria trials home quarantine for vaccinated overseas travellers

Melburnians flying home from London next week will be allowed to bypass hotel quarantine and self-isolate for a week instead in a trial using location-tracking technology.

www.theage.com.au

My take: Maybe once that trial concludes they'll follow NSW's lead and determine that home quarantine will require too many resources to manage and set a date.

If home quarantine will require too many resources, if they are being conservative they could try and use that as a justification to delay international travel from mid-November mentioned in the article to say the start of December so that vaccination rates are pushing up to around 90%.

 

[Lynda2475]

This is where the government needs to pull its finger out and implement an easy system before 1 Nov. ONly 10 days left.

It cant be too hard to navigate hotel cap arrivals have been managed by airlines without much issue for almost 18 months now.

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

I think the too many resources is thinly veiled "we just know this is stupid when there is so much covid floating around anyway"

 

[mviy]

I think the too many resources is thinly veiled "we just know this is stupid when there is so much covid floating around anyway"

Well another take is that it highlights that they were never interested in allocating enough resources to have anywhere close to a reasonable arrivals cap. NSW did the best of all the states, but to solve the problem even they needed to do multiple times what they were doing before the arrivals cap cuts.

Home quarantine should have always largely been a trusting people to do the right thing approach rather than a heavy handed surveillance state approach that will be difficult to manage and should have been in place a lot earlier.

Now with high vaccination rates and lots of COVID in the community home quarantine for the vaccinated is a waste of resources.

I think VIC's trial is probably designed to give VIC a bit of cover to delay having to make a decision. They can say let's wait and see what the trial results tell us. By then they could be reasonably confident as to when full vaccination rates will reach 90% and use that to set a date to open up international travel direct to/from MEL.

 

[jakeseven7]

I think the too many resources is thinly veiled "we just know this is stupid when there is so much covid floating around anyway"

Yup agreed. All of this is just ‘we are doing something don’t stress’ muddling around that will have very little effect apart from to annoy people and deter travellers.

 

[jpp42]

So my fiance cannot get any other vaccine as she already got Sinopharm

I don't think you'll find this is as big a roadblock as you're treating it as. There has been plenty of studies that show that mixing and matching vaccine brands is not a problem, and in fact greatly increases efficacy, especially if one of the vaccines is not as good (which presumably applies to Sinopharm). Obviously, get medical advice on this, but your financee should still be able to get a TGA approved vaccine from somewhere. As I don't think you said what country she's in, I can't provide more info, but most countries have private clinics that will offer Moderna, AZ, etc, and possibly Pfizer.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Yup agreed. All of this is just ‘we are doing something don’t stress’ muddling around that will have very little effect apart from to annoy people and deter travellers.

It's carefully planned messaging to transition the rabid zero covid base they themselves created.

 

[PineappleSkip]

So why are we banning those who have had covid from entering Australia.Virtually the same risk as for fully vaccinated people.

That would explain why a lot of countries require either a certificate of vaccination OR a certificate of recovery as proof of immunity.

cheers skip

 

[Lynda2475]

OR a certificate of recovery

Now that vaccinations are readily available you will see this option start disappearing, especially since there isnt a standard format which can be linked to passport.

I've just been looking at some tours in Europe for next year, all companies I've looked at are offering two types - fully vaccinated (everyone must be double jabbed with a recognized vaccine) or reduced risk (everyone must be double jabbed or have a negative covid test withing 48 hours of departure), none accepting recovery certificates.

A doctors note saying you had and recovered from covid wont hold much weight. Border control will be looking for government endorsed evidence.

 

[Grimace1]

VIC is trialling home quarantine for a week from October 27.

Victoria trials home quarantine for vaccinated overseas travellers

Melburnians flying home from London next week will be allowed to bypass hotel quarantine and self-isolate for a week instead in a trial using location-tracking technology.

www.theage.com.au

The article mentions it will be a "special flight from London to Melbourne" -- Does anybody know what flight it would be?

 

[mviy]

The article mentions it will be a "special flight from London to Melbourne" -- Does anybody know what flight it would be?

I'm guessing probably a QF repatriation flight probably stopping in Darwin without letting passengers off there. I don't think they'd be funding a flight to fly with a much smaller number going non-stop from London to Melbourne.

 

[dairyfloss]

The article mentions it will be a "special flight from London to Melbourne" -- Does anybody know what flight it would be?

Perhaps this is Kylie coming home to Melbourne? Nice of them to let her quarantine at home

 

[OATEK]

Just got an update from CX as follows:

Following the Government’s announcement that fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family will be able to fly to Sydney quarantine-free, we are pleased to announce we will be offering increased capacity on our flights to/from Sydney with 10 flights a week from 1 November 2021.

 

[oznflfan]

Officially given up on being on first NT flight to LHR. Just seems too hard.

Just booked 8 days in Perth week after next. Margs, Albany, CBD. Nothing mindblowing, but gets me away form everything for a week.

Gdansk & Normandy first half of 2022, when A) return flights cheaper (or QFF availability) and B) when Gunner allows quarantine free NT return.

 

[coyote25]

Just got this from SIA:
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Singapore Airlines welcomes recent announcements to reopen the New South Wales international border to fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members from 1 November 2021. Over the course of the past 18 months, Singapore Airlines has continued to operate to Australia, keeping key trade channels open and providing a means for essential travel. Due to the international arrival caps, only one flight a day was allowed to carry a limited number of travellers into Sydney, with the remaining flights operating as cargo-only. To support the return of more Australians and the reunification of family and friends, Singapore Airlines has opened sales on all 17 weekly flights from Singapore to Sydney for eligible customers. These flights will be shown as “For Eligible Passengers Only”, and will be available for sale via singaporeair.com or your preferred travel agent. KrisFlyer redemption bookings will be progressively made available for sale from 23 October 2021. Eligibility to travel on these services is determined by the Australian Government and must meet the following criteria: Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident or eligible immediate family member; Have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a TGA approved or recognised vaccine; and Have a vaccine certificate that meets the Australian Government’s authenticity and verification requirements. Children under the age of 12 and those who cannot be vaccinated due to a medical condition are exempted from this requirement. For unvaccinated passengers already booked on SIA traveling under the cap system into Sydney, we will remain guided by the local authorities on how to facilitate such passengers within the revised international arrival caps that will come into effect from 1 November 2021. We will assist such customers with their bookings once the authorities provide details. For full details on Singapore Airlines flights to Sydney, please visit our dedicated webpage. This resource will be regularly updated in line with the latest Australian Government Regulations. ​

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Prior to booking, customers are encouraged to confirm their eligibility for travel to Sydney uncapped on these flights, as well as any restrictions or measures that apply for Australian Citizens and permanent residents departing or arriving into Australia via the Department of Home Affairs website. Singapore Airlines’ flights operating into other Australian cities continue under Australia’s existing cap system until further notice. All services departing from Australia will continue to operate as scheduled. As Australia begins to reopen to the world, we remain committed to working closely with all levels of Government to operationalise plans to support the safe and sustainable re-opening of Australia’s borders, and look forward to welcoming you on board again soon.​

 

[Berlin]

Now what the heck are the "Australian Government’s authenticity and verification requirements" for vaccine certificates? This question has been going around here for while and I still haven't seen any detailed info on this.

It does make me slightly nervous that we're booked on flights from NZ in early November and all we have are some little card board "vaccination cards" and handwritten (!) entries into the little yellow WHO vaccination booklet. If they suddenly tell us a few days ahead that something more advanced is suddenly somehow needed, then I will panic.

And I can only imagine how crazy that will if you have a flight from, say, Nigeria via Dubai booked to come home in early November. Not trying to diss Nigeria, just was the first more 'exotic' location that came to mind

 

[Lynda2475]

Surely NZ would need to provide an internationally recognized certificates similar to one feds here are issuing and already in use in EU?

 

[justinbrett]

Surely NZ would need to provide an internationally recognized certificates similar to one feds here are issuing and already in use in EU?

Only if they intend to let their citizens out

 

[mviy]

Apparently the VIC government is expected to make an announcement about the home quarantine trial later this week.

I guess the best we can hope for is to get some idea as to when they expect to be able to make announcements following the conclusion of the trial about the resumption of international travel, if we even get that.

 

[Lynda2475]

If Vic require home q and NSW dont, i can see people flying into SYD having a holiday for a week then going home to Vic. More business for NSW.