14 passengers detained

TRAVELLERS on the first commercial flight from New Zealand in seven months landed in Sydney yesterday in the first phase of reopening transtasman travel.

But 14 of those passengers were later detained in Melbourne, after crossing the Victorian state border, the SunHerald reported last night.

The passengers arrived in Sydney on an Air New Zealand flight about noon as part of a transtasman travel arrangement covering New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

They then boarded a flight to Melbourne, where they were intercepted and detained.

Earlier, there were emotional scenes at Sydney International Airport as those stuck on either side of the Tasman came together after both countries closed their borders in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

New Zealand passengers do not have to enter quarantine upon arrival.

A Jetstar flight and a Qantas flight were due to arrive later yesterday.

Australians will be able to travel to New Zealand at a later, still undetermined date. — The New Zealand Herald