Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[jrfsp]

Airlines are banning cloth masks in favour of surgical-grade masks

The new travel checklist: passport, noise-cancelling headphones, N95-grade face mask...

www.executivetraveller.com

Airlines are tightening up on mask requirements. I wonder if QF and VA will do the same?

 

[justinbrett]

PM just said "states who have moved into those thresholds (70/80%)" in relation to accepting international arrivals.

Clearest indication yet that we won't be waiting for the slow states.

 

[jakeseven7]

So it could be start of December allow fully vaccinated back in to do home quarantine and mid December allow anyone to depart that is fully vaccinated.

Funnily enough both Alan and Jayne seem to have exactly the same dates and messaging as the Feds… fancy that

 

[antycbr]

ACT chief Minister is on record as saying we will be including 12-15s in our vaccination statistics, so the goal posts have definitely moved there. Also WA is trying pretty hard to move them by giving the impression that they will not open state borders at 70% or international borders at 80%.

Reports today of groundswell of public opinion (58%) that that lockdowns etc should continue until 12-15s have been vaccinated. Hard to disagree with this, but it is a moving of the goal posts as to when lockdowns and restrictions will lift.

I really hope you are right but I am a bit sceptical.

Guardian Essential poll: Australians wary of any ‘living with Covid’ strategy that would lead to more deaths

Majority of respondents also say lockdowns and other restrictions should continue until substantial proportion of children are fully vaccinated

www.theguardian.com

The ACT thinking they can not follow whatever happens in NSW is rather cute.

The ACT outsources all of their essential workers to... Western and South Western Sydney. There's next to no manufacturing or logistics in the ACT. Supermarkets and fuel supplies alone result in hundreds of vehicle movements across the border from DCs in Sydney.

I believe around 20,000 people cross the border daily for work. Most parts of Jerrabomberra and Queanbeyan are closer to Canberra than Tuggeranong is. It's not practicable to close those borders. It would disrupt most Commonwealth departments, including Defence and the AFP. The Feds won't stand for that.

 

[OATEK]

I am tempted to pull the trigger on a QF booking to the UK for March 22. I don't see them having more than 1 flight a day unless demand really takes off, and want to have 2 seats in the bag.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Wishing all intending Australian residents wanting to travel overseas well.

Points clearly safer/cheaper option.

Just take caution - Delta hit and smashed every State border opening (and burst NZ bubble) within 5-6 months.

 

[Tiki]

Premier won’t say whether WA will opt out of international travel once Australia reopens. This guy is even scarier than AP! It’s like my worst nightmare being trapped in hermetically sealed Covid 0 hell.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Premier won’t say whether WA will opt out of international travel once Australia reopens. This guy is even scarier than AP! It’s like my worst nightmare being trapped in hermetically sealed Covid 0 hell.

It only means quarantine on arrival........whether that's a Sydney (edit: may be Brisbane might be considered "safer" from a WA perspective) hotel of your choice, or a WA cap place, or something else that might be similar.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Premier won’t say whether WA will opt out of international travel once Australia reopens. This guy is even scarier than AP! It’s like my worst nightmare being trapped in hermetically sealed Covid 0 hell.

The facade around the WA government's "response" is slowly cracking. The bigger the crack gets, the faster it will spread. Eventually the whole thing will come tumbling down.

 

[coyote25]

Extra 500,000 Pfizer doses on the way from Singapore in vaccine swap


Extra 500,000 Pfizer doses on the way from Singapore in vaccine swap

This is great news and outside of the box thinking. Ensures the world/SIN doesn’t waste Pfizer vaccines, gets shots in arms faster in Australia and we send SIN some back after we have adequate supplies AND have passed 80%.

This has potential to move dates forward for 70 & 80% rates.

I am hoping the locked down States and ACT can put some of this extra supply towards Year 12 students. Both to minimise their risk when returning to school but also to (slightly) minimise virus spread of a highly mobile cohort.

Great news, the beginning of the end of this phase of COVID normal (that started 17.5 months ago) and moving to a new COVID normal where the things that bring joy can at least be attempted more often.

Let’s hope the Feds have other deals cooking as well.

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

Sometimes you just need to ask yourself the bigger questions, like, how does international covid impact us when we have local covid anyway ..
or ..
how do you secure a Grand Final takes place in your state?
what rules?

 

[Pushka]

Lots of positivity announced today. I think our May UK wedding trip is most definitely going to happen and just maybe desperate DIL might get to spend Christmas with her UK parents.

 

[jase05]

PM just said "states who have moved into those thresholds (70/80%)" in relation to accepting international arrivals.

Clearest indication yet that we won't be waiting for the slow states.

How do the states get a choice?
National border and compulsory HQ are Hunt decisions under Biosecurity Act.
If he opens the national border, States could not prevent arrivals crossing the passport and Customs barriers or am I wrong in that regard?

 

[Must...Fly!]

How do the states get a choice?
National border and compulsory HQ are Hunt decisions under Biosecurity Act.
If he opens the national border, States could not prevent arrivals crossing the passport and Customs barriers or am I wrong in that regard?

They can be admitted entry in to Australia. The WA government could refuse them access to the state. It has the potential to be very messy.

 

[justinbrett]

How do the states get a choice?
National border and compulsory HQ are Hunt decisions under Biosecurity Act.
If he opens the national border, States could not prevent arrivals crossing the passport and Customs barriers or am I wrong in that regard?

In legal effect they could, because the state could have a public health order saying anybody who has travelled overseas in the last 14 days must quarantine in government managed accommodation at their own expense. At an extreme they could put a state police checkpoint at the airport exit and treat it like a state border.

In practice I'd say it would be more similar to how the NZ bubble started, where it was opt in and the states can pick and choose what countries they'll accept and what restrictions they impose.

 

[ayushamity]

From presser

''Let’s acknowledge what lockouts do.

Once we get to the point, and that is certainly the point we want to get past, 80% ... home quarantine needs to be a viable and widespread option for people who are travelling overseas and returning. And indeed people who are overseas and have been vaccinated by the vaccines that are recognised in Australia.

For that to occur then we need to get these home quarantine models up and running in states and territories across the country.

That means that people will be able to in states that aren’t locking others out, those states who have moved into those thresholds, there will be opportunity for people to go and travel and return to Australia and quarantine at home.''

Thank God I live in NSW!!

I am soooooo looking forward to seeing McClown's long decline into oblivion once WA see other states start travelling to Bali.

 

[JB expat]

Well it would make sense to have at least a week or two to try to clear some of the backlog of those stranded overseas as much as many of us trapped here in Australia would like to depart ASAP.

Wouldn't that mean full planes in both directions - meaning, the clearing of the backlog in terms of inbound flights would result in more outbound flights to meet the pent up demand for outbound travel? seems to be symmetry here.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

How do the states get a choice?
National border and compulsory HQ are Hunt decisions under Biosecurity Act.
If he opens the national border, States could not prevent arrivals crossing the passport and Customs barriers or am I wrong in that regard?

They can be admitted entry in to Australia. The WA government could refuse them access to the state. It has the potential to be very messy.

Currently in WA hotel quarantine is also under WA's Emergency Management Act 2005

All international and some domestic travellers to Western Australia issued a Centre Quarantine Direction under the Emergency Management Act 2005 will need to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days following arrival. The quarantine period means you must stay in your designated hotel room even if you are feeling well. When you are in quarantine you are not permitted to have any visitors, even if they are another traveller also in quarantine.

COVID-19 coronavirus: Paying for hotel quarantine in WA frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about paying for hotel quarantine in WA

www.wa.gov.au

 

[Must...Fly!]

That means that people will be able to in states that aren’t locking others out, those states who have moved into those thresholds, there will be opportunity for people to go and travel and return to Australia and quarantine at home.

That is good news.

For those of us who work in essential services and cannot work from home, sadly even home quarantine is going to be a really difficult ask. But we have to start somewhere.

 

[antycbr]

Wouldn't that mean full planes in both directions - meaning, the clearing of the backlog in terms of inbound flights would result in more outbound flights to meet the pent up demand for outbound travel? seems to be symmetry here.

There will definitely be outbound demand, and a fair bit of it one way in my estimation to allow people off Prison Island