New Zealand nixes Australia travel bubble
A travel bubble across the Ditch looks to be off the agenda for now.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has all but ditched the idea for now due to the ongoing surge of Covid-19 cases in Melbourne and the state of Victoria.
A planned trans-Tasman travel bubble linking New Zealand with Australia is now on the back burner, the PM said.
Melbourne has more than 700 active cases of Covid-19.
It is a ‘major step back for trans-Tasman travel,’ she said.
Australia needs to be free of community transmission for at least 28 days for a travel bubble to commence Adern said, adding that could be weeks if not months away.
"Anywhere where we have Covid-free travel they have to be free of community transmission for a period of time – that will be some time for Australia," Ardern said.
Aussie tourism minister Simon Birmingham is scrambling to save the travel bubble proposal, saying it could still go ahead with individual states not including Victoria.
"I still hope that it can be achieved this year, to all of Australia, or whether to perhaps the rest of Australia."
"Clearly, they’re not going to want flights in and out of Melbourne any time soon," Birmingham said.
by Ray Montgomery, Asia Pacific editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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