Airports get busy as Australia-New Zealand quarantine-free travel begins

Passengers prepare at Sydney Airport, in Sydney, Australia, Monday, April 19, 2021, to catch a flight to New Zealand as the much-anticipated travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand opens.- AP

SYDNEY: Hundreds of passengers thronged Australian airports on Monday as an open border system began with New Zealand, a pandemic milestone that allows Australian residents to fly there for the first time in over a year without having to quarantine for two weeks.

Though most Australian states have allowed quarantine-free visits from New Zealand residents since late last year, New Zealand had enforced isolation for arrivals from its neighbour, citing concern about sporadic virus outbreaks there.