Australia On Track to Reopen It’s Borders

1st October 2021

Australia is now on track to allow borders to reopen in November, the country’s minister for trade, tourism and investments said on Wednesday, September 22.

Australia closed its borders to non-residents in March 2020 and employed a mandatory quarantine system, which severely limited the number of people who could return to the country each week. Additionally, visitors cannot enter Australia unless you’re an Australian citizen, permanent resident or in an exempt category.

According to CNN, the country will need to reach at least an 80 percent national vaccination rate in order to reopen as planned. As of now, 60 percent of Australians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 38 percent are fully immunized.

Following the Australian Federal Government’s announcement, GMT partners, Qantas, will bring forward the restart of some international flights.*

From 14 November 2021, Qantas will operate:

• Three round trip flights per week between Los Angeles and Sydney
• Three round trip flights per week between London (Heathrow) and Sydney

Fares are now available for sale for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and some visa holders.

Once the Australian Federal Government announces the exact date that Australia’s international borders will reopen in November, the commencement dates for these two routes may need to be updated. Flights will be brought forward if it’s earlier than 14 November or moved to later in the month if necessary. Customers booked on these flights will have the flexibility to make fee free date changes for travel until 31 December 2022 (a fare difference may apply). If flights are cancelled by Qantas, customers are eligible for a refund or Flight Credit.

At this stage, all other international routes that are scheduled to resume from 18 December 2021 will continue as planned. If other states and territories in Australia decide to open their borders earlier and reduce quarantine requirements, Qantas may resume flights on other routes sooner, too.

All passengers on Qantas’ international flights will be required to be fully vaccinated with a TGA-approved or recognized vaccine (some exemptions for medical reasons and children). They will also be required to return a negative PCR COVID test 72 hours prior to departure.

Customers on these flights will be required to home quarantine for seven days on arrival into Australia, in accordance with the requirements from the Federal and New South Wales governments.

International flights remain subject to Government and Regulatory approval. The details of travel requirements are being finalized and more information will be provided in coming weeks. Contact us for bookings or more information.