It’s exactly one year today since Tasmania became the first Australian state to close its border to interstate travel. Since then, there have been endless state border closures and changes to interstate travel restrictions. International borders remain shut for now but thankfully, as of last Monday, all domestic borders in Australia are now open again … Continued
One of the (very few) pleasant aspects of flying during the past 12 months has been the lack of crowds. While the sinking passenger numbers have been terrible for the airlines’ bottom lines, a silver lining for passengers has been shorter queues at security, lots of empty middle seats and no fights over overhead locker … Continued
For the first time in almost one year, there are no longer restrictions on interstate travel between any Australian states & territories as of this morning. This has not happened since Tasmania became the first state to close to all non-essential interstate travellers on 20 March 2020 – almost exactly a year ago. On that … Continued
Since 22 January 2021, anyone flying to Australia from overseas is required to get a COVID-19 PCR test no more than 72 hours before their first flight’s departure (and produce a certificate showing a negative result). This is in addition to the 14 days of hotel quarantine on arrival in Australia. “These [new measures] will … Continued
The Australian government has extended the outbound travel ban for a further three months. It means Australian citizens and permanent residents will continue to need a travel restriction exemption to leave the country until at least 17 June 2021 – three months later than previously announced – although it is likely that the travel ban … Continued
Yesterday marked an historic day for our country, with the first COVID-19 vaccine administered in Australia. From here, it will still take some months before COVID-19 vaccines are made available to every Australian who wants one. But, hopefully, this marks the beginning of a huge step towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the … Continued
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
Qantas Frequent Flyer is giving away 10 points per day to Qantas Wellbeing App users that walk at least 7,500 steps each day during February 2021. Following an initial “Qantas Frequent Walker” promotion during June 2020, this offer is back for the month of February 2021. In total, there are up to 280 bonus Qantas … Continued
Earlier this month, Qantas reopened international flight bookings for July 2021. But then, this week, Australia’s current and former Chief Medical Officers both said they didn’t expect regular international travel to Australia to resume until 2022. So, when can we expect some level of meaningful international travel to resume, and what will it take? Also in Episode … 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
