Australia-NZ travel rebounds as borders reopen

New Zealand's main gateway at Auckland Airport is seeing a strong rebound in traffic from Australia following the New Zealand government's latest border reopening step, and airlines are preparing to add more routes when travel resumes from other overseas markets.

Australian residents were allowed to enter New Zealand quarantine-free from 12-Apr-2022, which has furthered two-way travel flows between the two countries. Quarantine and isolation requirements for returning New Zealanders had already been dropped in Mar-2022, and Australia has been allowing New Zealanders to enter since Nov-2021.

This is a very important traffic corridor for both countries, so the return of more flights is a massive step for the Australasian travel and airline industries.

Of course, flight numbers and traveller volume are still way down on pre-pandemic levels, but the restoration of trans-Tasman routes presages what will likely be a continued upward trajectory as customer confidence and demand improve.