People in Sydney who need to travel to New Zealand for emergency reasons will have another opportunity to do so next week.
Brigadier Rose King, the joint head of MIQ, announced on Wednesday afternoon the Government has arranged for another red flight from Sydney to Auckland on September 15.
The flight is open only to those people who are eligible for MIQ emergency allocations , with applications to be on the flight closing at 5pm New Zealand time on Sunday September 11 (3pm AEST).
All travellers on the flight will have to complete 14 days in MIQ upon arrival. They must also have a right to enter the country, can’t have been at a location of interest in the past 14 days, and must show a negative pre-departure test when checking in at the airport.
Pre-departure tests must be taken within 72 hours of departure.
The flight isn’t open to the public for bookings, so King said people shouldn’t try contacting airlines directly.
King said while an announcement was expected later in September about the trans-Tasman bubble, she urged people eligible for the September 15 flight to take the opportunity to return to New Zealand.
The Covid-19 Response Minister says we shouldn't expect a decision in the next few weeks.
On Wednesday, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said it was "unrealistic to expect" any "speedy decisions" about the reopening of the trans-Tasman bubble in the next few weeks.
"I'm aware that our initial indication of the length of time that we were suspending the bubble for is drawing close," Hipkins said.
He said people looking to return to New Zealand from Australia "should be making preparations to secure bookings ... to come back through MIQ when space is available".
The first red flight from Sydney on September 5 brought 93 people back to New Zealand.
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