Families reunited as Queensland resumes international flights

This morning, the first direct aircraft from Australia to Wellington touched down in New Zealand from Brisbane, allowing families to be reunited.
After been forced to cancel hundreds of flights due to the COVID-19 outbreak, this is the last direct foreign flight to depart from Brisbane International Airport.
Maatakiri Rapira hadn’t seen her parents in New Zealand for over four years when she arrived in the country.

Prior to her departure, she expressed her desire to return home and embrace her parents. “That’s all I want to do, and they have no idea I’m coming,” she added.
Maggie and Miles Thompson, who were also making the trip to Wellington, were enthusiastic about the new route, which they believe represents a return to more accessible international travel.
“Oh my my, it’s the most wonderful thing that has ever happened. When I received my COVID test results this morning, I genuinely shed a tear “Ms Thompson expressed herself.

This month, daily flights between Brisbane and Dubai were reinstated.
Starting from Thursday, direct flights between Brisbane and Los Angeles and Kuala Lumpur will be available again.
As of July 1, Air Canada will begin four-times-weekly flights to Vancouver, with Philippine Airways flights to Manila resuming to service on April 3.

Flights from Brisbane to Bali operated by Jetstar will resume in May.

According to Rachel Bronish of the Brisbane Airport Corporation, the new flight routes heralded the beginning of a new era for the airline and tourism industries.
“We really believe that this is the beginning,” she said.

Ms Bronish went on to say that, given the constantly changing COVID-19 limits and laws that differ from country to country, working with a travel agency for overseas visits was the best course of action.
“Asking for help from a travel agency is always a smart idea since there are various restrictions for different countries, and it always pays to do your homework in the first place,” she said.