Transit flights through Australia cancelled

New Zealand’s travel bubble with Australia has led to an effective blocking of one of the major routes Kiwis were using to return home amid the pandemic.

The bubble, which comes into effect on Monday, will mean that people in Australia will be able to board ‘‘green’’ quarantine-free flights, as long as they have been in Australia for the past 14 days.

But ‘‘red flights’’ from Australia – which carry passengers who don’t meet those requirements and are required to enter managed isolation or quarantine (MIQ) on arrival in New Zealand – will cease from Monday.

This means there will be no option for returning Kiwis who are transiting in Australia from further abroad.

The Unite Against Covid-19 website said: ‘‘Every flight from Australia to New Zealand from [April 19] will be a green flight.’’

Pre-bubble, Air NZ was operating five return red flights each week – two to Sydney, two to Melbourne and one to Brisbane.

Travellers on these flights were kept separate from green-flight passengers and were required to undergo 14 days of managed isolation on arrival in New Zealand. Air NZ, Qantas, and Jetstar have confirmed they will be operating only quarantine-free flights between Australia and New Zealand.

‘‘I do think it is an unintended consequence of the travel bubble with Australia,’’ immigration adviser Iain Macleod said. He believed this had not been considered by New Zealand officials.

‘‘We are trying to make travel easier but we are just making it harder.’’ Macleod was contacting at least six South African families who were meant to be coming to New Zealand after the travel bubble started. They would have to book new flights in the hope they could again make them match their MIQ slots, likely via places connecting directly to Auckland such as Dubai or Hong Kong. Kiwis abroad were previously able to enter Australia for a 72-hour transit period, provided they were eligible for a special category visa (subclass 444).

Australia’s Home Affairs Department said: ‘‘The Australian Border Force is working with New Zealand and our industry partners on the implementation of two-way quarantine free travel, including transit arrangements.’’ New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was a commercial decision for each airline as to which types of flights they operated.