First quarantinefree flight since April

AUCKLAND: Air New Zealand and Auckland Airport said yesterday’s first quarantinefree flight in 10 months was an important first step in reviving international travel.

Passengers on the flight from the Cook Islands were the first since last April to be able to move through the airport and into the public arrivals area instead of going into 14day managed isolation, as about 100,000 people have done.

The arrangement is not reciprocal yet and New Zealanders are still unable to travel to the Cook Islands in nearly all circumstances.

Airport aeronautical commercial manager

Scott Tasker said the flight was an important start.

‘‘It’s an important first step and we know that the governments are continuing to talk and work towards that bidirectional bubble.

‘‘That’s important because we’re keen for New Zealanders to get to the Cooks — we have to reflect on the impact of Covid on their economy,’’ he said.

Air New Zealand chief operating officer Carrie Hurihanganui said the quarantinefree Rarotonga flight was part of proving that borders could be reopened safely.

‘‘Let’s keep building on that,’’ she said. — The New Zealand Herald

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES Family ties . . . Virginia Cabral meets her grandchildren Maria Virginia (left) and Mahina Franca in the Auckland Airport arrivals lounge yesterday after disembarking from the first quarantinefree flight from Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, in 10 months.