The $1b bubble
EmotionalEm scenes as Kiwis fly home
Tears flowed down Ashleigh Green’s cheeks as she embraced her Melbournebased mother, between them her son Boston meeting his grandmother for the first time.
In the year since they’d last met in person, Covid-19 had escalated the world over, heavily restricting travel, and Green had had her first child.
“It was hard, not having mum there. I have an amazing partner and friends, but you just can’t compete with having your mother around at a time like that.”
So as soon as the transtasman bubble was announced two weeks ago, her mother Marleen was booked on the first flight to Auckland out of Melbourne.
Soon after Marleen exited customs, tears flowed as the three hugged for the first time, broken only by warm laughter as baby Boston broke into a big smile.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for so long. This is what New Zealand is about, bringing people together, welcoming people back home.”
Similar stories of reunification were seen right across the motu at New Zealand’s international airports, drenched in aroha with overjoyed stories of weddings, tragic tales of funerals and delight at greeting newborn babies as the long-awaited travel bubble with Australia opened.
Also in Auckland, Oina Luatine and her granddaughter Ashleigh waited for another granddaughter, Porchae, to arrive from Melbourne.
One of Luatine’s daughters is getting married today, and Porchae, the only close family member overseas, was lucky to snap up one of the first flights home to make the special day.
“It was so lucky, the timing, I was really worried I might have missed the wedding,” Porchae told the Herald soon after landing.
There was also wedding news in the works for Seamus Matamua and fiance Auilagi Vaifale, waiting to see Matamua’s parents from Sydney.
It was the first time Vaifale had met them, with the couple having married in June. “I’m very excited, but a bit nervous,” she told the Herald.
Matamua said it had been more than two years since he’d seen his parents and he could not wait to be reunited. “It’s going to be quite emotional. I’m really looking forward to them finally meeting Auilagi.”
It was also a chance to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday from March, when they’d meant to fly to Australia but had to cancel because of rising Covid-19 cases there.
Once they arrived, though, the parents were too emotional to comment, tears streaming down cheeks as they all embraced.
For the Finau wha¯nau it was “mixed emotions”, with Amelia Finau reuniting with her sister Melefale Finganofo. On Tuesday they bury their brother.
“It is lucky she has got to come back, a lot of families have missed out on that opportunity unfortunately,” Finau’s son Tetai said. “So we are lucky, very happy to see her, but it is mixed emotions.”
For 5-year-old Kingi, he got the biggest birthday surprise he could have imagined. About eight months ago he’d been living in Melbourne with his mother, Jessie-Lyn, but returned to Aotearoa with his father.
It’s great to see the Tasman going again, something that used to be about as uneventful as going to the supermarket.
Adrian Littlewood Auckland Airport CEO
As soon as the bubble opened, Jessie-Lyn booked a flight home.
It had to be Monday, Kingi’s birthday, but the family decided to keep it as a surprise.
“I’ll never forget his face — he had no idea,” Jessie-Lyn told the Herald.
“Then he saw me, and just rushed over. It is so special to be home.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was disappointed Cabinet was meeting yesterday as the first transtasman flight landed in Wellington, because she would have loved to share in the airport joy. “I would have loved to have been a bystander, seeing those families being reunited for the first time,” she said.
“A scene from Love Actually is how I’d anticipate it would look and it would feel.”
During her post-Cabinet press conference yesterday afternoon, Ardern described the bubble with Australia as an “important milestone” in New Zealand’s economic recovery — and worth an estimated $1 billion.
“It is truly exciting.”
About 400 quarantine-free flights a week are expected to arrive and depart from Auckland Airport on transtasman routes operated by Air New Zealand, Jetstar and Qantas by the end of April — a stark contrast to the 36 flights to and from Australia in the first week of April.
Auckland Airport chief executive Adrian Littlewood said it was an important day that had taken a long time to get to.
“It’s great to see the Tasman going again, something that used to be about as uneventful as going to the supermarket, so it’s certainly an exciting thing to get back to normal.”
I’ve been waiting for this day for so long. This is what New Zealand is about, bringing people together, welcoming people back home.
Ashleigh Green