Air NZ gets OK for Brisbane

Air New Zealand has announced its first quarantine-free flights to Queensland will begin today.

Flight NZ147 will leave Auckland at 7.40am and passengers will not have to quarantine on arrival in Brisbane.

It will operate similarly to existing flights to Sydney and Melbourne, with quarantinefree flights for people whose travel originates in New Zealand, and quarantine flights for people who do not meet the Safe Travel Zone criteria and who are required to quarantine on arrival in Australia.

Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said the airline had been working closely with authorities in Australia.

‘‘We currently operate five return flights per week between Auckland and Brisbane,’’ Geraghty said. ‘‘Three of these services will be quarantine-free flights, while the remaining two will be quarantine flights. Quarantine flights cannot be booked by people beginning their journey in New Zealand.’’

The airline said that before customers travelled to Australia they were required to complete the Australia Travel Declaration form stating they had been in New Zealand for the preceding 14 days. This is a one-way agreement because any travellers from Brisbane still need to quarantine in New Zealand for 14 days.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk opened up the borders to New Zealand on December 12 because New Zealand had reached 28 days of zero community transmission at that time.

Queensland recorded two new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday but both were acquired overseas and caught while in hotel quarantine.

Any passengers planning to travel interstate beyond Queensland need to check for any current restrictions.