The Queenstown holiday that wasn’t
Couple’s four-day ski trip turns into 14 days in managed isolation
Australian couple David and Ann Hodgson flew from Brisbane to Queenstown for a four-day skiing holiday on July 19.
But instead of enjoying their holiday, they are seeing the inside of a hotel room for a fortnight.
On arrival at Queenstown Airport the couple were asked to produce negative Covid-19 test results – which they ‘‘knew nothing about’’.
Unknown to them, travellers must have a negative pre-departure test result to enter New Zealand. So when unable to produce the results, they were bussed six hours to Christchurch and instructed to spend two weeks in a managed isolation hotel.
The couple, both health professionals, had asked if they could instead be flown straight back to Brisbane as they had jobs to go to after their planned four-day break, but they said their request was denied.
The upset couple, seven days into their 14-day managed isolation period at the city’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, have criticised both Air New Zealand and the Government for the predicament they are in.
Before leaving on their holiday, David, a doctor at a Brisbane hospital, had Googled lots of online sites to see what the Covid-19 restrictions were in New Zealand, but he didn’t find anything to say they needed to produce negative test results.
And when departing from Brisbane Airport, no airport or Air New Zealand staffer asked them if they had negative test results, and health declaration forms they filled out didn’t ask the question either, Ann said.
‘‘Had this occurred we would have been alerted to our omission and not boarded the flight.’’
They accepted the oversight on their part, but noted the Government required airlines to take reasonable steps to ensure their passengers, when checking in for flights to New Zealand, had evidence of negative Covid-19 tests. If Air New Zealand had abided by its requirements and the New Zealand Government had ensured the airline was doing so, they would have been alerted at the airport and not got on the plane, Ann said.
However, an Air New Zealand spokesperson said the airline alerted travelling passengers to the Government’s requirement of a negative predeparture test numerous times before they boarded flights to New Zealand.
‘‘This includes an alert sent to customers three days before departure, a declaration they are required to accept on our self-check-in kiosks on arrival at the airport, and an announcement at the departure gate advising customers they may be required to enter MIQ if they do not have evidence of a negative Covid-19 test carried out by an accepted provider.
‘‘As the condition for a negative pre-departure test is a Government requirement, we also have Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [MBIE] liaison officers at the check-in area vetting customers.’’
Ann said they received no alerts about getting pre-departure tests, they were not aware of the declaration at the check-in kiosk, they heard no announcements at the departure gate, and they had not been vetted by MBIE liaison officers.
‘‘It is quite perplexing.’’ Adding to the couple’s frustration, they had since learned of earlier media reports revealing travellers had arrived in New Zealand without the required negative test results, so believed the issue should have been resolved before their arrival.
A Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Covid-19 Group spokesperson said all passengers entering New Zealand from Australia around the same time as the Hodgsons were required to produce evidence of a negative Covid test.
‘‘If passengers check in at a kiosk, they must declare that they meet predeparture requirements.
‘‘To support compliance, the NZ Government has recently increased the number of officials at Australian airports to check travellers’ predeparture tests.’’
The spokesperson acknowledged managed isolation and quarantine was a challenging time but said the travel regulations existed ‘‘to keep Covid-19 out of the community’’.
The Hodgsons had each returned two negative two Covid-19 since being in New Zealand, Ann said.
As health professionals, they did not believe they posed a health risk to the community so wanted to return home to their respective jobs in Brisbane. However, they had been told they must stay in hotel quarantine for the full 14 days before departing, she said.
Hotel isolation in such circumstances was ‘‘punitive’’ and the Government’s ‘‘blanket approach’’ to the issue wasn’t helpful, she said.
‘‘Had this occurred we would have been alerted to our omission and not boarded the flight.’’ Ann Hodgson