As travel becomes complicated, travel bubbles are now growing in popularity. Talks between Hong Kong and Singapore are ongoing while Indonesia and Malaysia also have their bubble. This can be a good way to resuscitate the struggling airline companies.
This time around, New Zealanders looking to enter Australia can now enjoy quarantine-free travel. Australia’s health authorities are confident that New Zealand has its COVID19 situation under control.
The one-way travel bubble was suspended earlier this month as the South African strain of COVID19 was detected on a woman from New Zealand.
Travel Bubble Requirement
The only condition to enter Australia is to have a negative COVID19 test in the last 72 hours before your departure. Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly believes that travelers from New Zealand possess a “low risk” of bringing COVID19 into Australia.
However, the travel bubble only applies to travelers going to Australia. Travelers from Australia going to New Zealand will have to comply with quarantine procedures.
COVID19 Passport Trial by April
Air New Zealand announced that it is also going to launch a trial digital vaccination passport by April. The Travel Pass app will be tested on Aukland-Sydney flights. The said app can link passengers’ passports to their “digital health wallet”. This will include vaccination and COVID19 test information.
According to Air New Zealand chief digital officer Jennifer Seppul, this will reassure that travelers are meeting the same health requirements. She mentioned that this will “speed up the check-in process” and it can also “unlock the potential for contactless travel”.
This trial will run for 3 weeks in April. Air New Zealand invited both aircrew and customers to participate in the trial.
This app will also give information on the government’s health and entry requirements. Air New Zealand also said that they won’t keep personal information. Airlines will receive information after participants gave their consent.
