Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[Lynda2475]

All of my friends and colleagues in the USA are already fully vaccinated. Supply isnt really an issue there (and they can choose which vaccine they get from the 3 available), their blocker to herd immunity is the anti-vax movement and trump supporters refusing to get a vaccine even though they have easy access to the leading mrna vaccines.

Im confident any adult who wants a vaccine in USA will have had access by July, we cant say the same here. And looking at that article the most populous US states look to exceed the 80% threshold so that will help keeps things manageable.

Whereas those of us under 50 in Australia needing Pfizer have no way of knowing right now when we can get our first dose, I have zero confidence that will be before October since insufficient transparency of delivery. We dot even have certainty that 1A and 1B will be complete by July - since too many in that cohort still haven't had a first dose.

Yes the US and UK have better access to supply, but clearly also doing a better of job of getting that supply into arms, meaning they will all be much freer to travel later this year, whilst we remain locked in for at least another 12 months.

 

[Amanad78]

I wonder if Australia will open up for broader 'immediate family' to visit if they are fully vaccinated and can quarantine either at family home or even hotel?

I'm thinking parents, siblings etc. They may be allowed here before we can visit where they are??

In my case, parents in UK, fully vaccinated with AZ and brother in UAE waiting for 2nd Pfizer dose.

I find it strange that parents are not classed as immediate family.

 

[dajop]

I wonder if Australia will open up for broader 'immediate family' to visit if they are fully vaccinated and can quarantine either at family home or even hotel?

The big question is whether there is a significant reduction in transmission from those who are vaccinated (but contract the disease) to those who are not vaccinated. That's why the discussion is more about Australian vaccination rates. On the current state of knowledge, the risk for example for someone who is vaccinated coming from a high activity country is probably not materially different from someone coming from a country where there is almost no COVID but is not vaccinated.

 

[Lynda2475]

Indian travel ban headed to court as Australian man files challenge to rules

An Australian man lodges a Federal Court challenge to the government's ban on travel from India, arguing it is illegal on constitutional grounds.

www.abc.net.au

It was only a matter of time for a legal challenge to be mounted.

What is interesting is that this gentlemen has been in India for 15 months, visiting friends (not working or someone who departed more recently for compassionate reasons), so seems odd they have been unable to return well before the ban came into play? Given direct flights from Dehli to Sydney have been operating through out that time plus multiple repatriation flights to DRW. This seems a bit opportunistic.

One would think they would have a better case with a plaintiff that had left Australia more recently with government permission, who now cant return because their flight has been cancelled. Someone who had confirmed plans to return.

 

[mviy]

He went to India March last year. He may not have thought the government would go so far as to close borders and then got stuck

 

[Lynda2475]

There is nothing mentioned in any of the media coverage that this particular gentlemen has actually tried to return to Australia. If he had booked flights which were cancelled and/or applied for a repatriation flight or government assistance it would seem more genuine.

I wonder if Mr Newman approached the legal firm, or whether the legal firm went looking for a plaintiff.

 

[mviy]

The Immigration Minister has said that he's spoken to a man today who has lost five relatives in India during the pandemic. The Minister has said that the situation is being reviewed on a daily basis and that government is working to make it safe to resume repatriation flights for Australians as soon as they can do so safely.

I wonder if the case will lead to an announcement being made about when repatriation flights will start again.

 

[Lynda2475]

So Cricket Australia is moving Australian IPL players to either Sri Lanka or the Maldives to then enable them to come home. Im sure they wont struggle too much spending a fortnight in the luxury of the Maldives before flying home via Singapore.

 

[Pushka]

I wonder if Australia will open up for broader 'immediate family' to visit if they are fully vaccinated and can quarantine either at family home or even hotel?

I'm thinking parents, siblings etc. They may be allowed here before we can visit where they are??

In my case, parents in UK, fully vaccinated with AZ and brother in UAE waiting for 2nd Pfizer dose.

I find it strange that parents are not classed as immediate family.

Absolutely although my family were immunised both here and UK as soon as they were eligible. Because we want to travel to see each other.

 

[oznflfan]

Gladys Berejiklian's warning to Aussies desperate to keep borders shut

Again Li am thankful I live in Sydney and not in WA/QLD with their nutjob premiers

Lesson to all, if you are brave enough to book international travel in 2022, make sure you fly out of Sydney. I'd be tempted to book QFF to wherever, say July 2022, just to give vaccinations some time, and a couple of months post worst case federal election.

 

[DC3]

... am thankful I live in Sydney and not in WA/QLD with their nutjob premiers

No mention of the Prime Minister?

 

[Flashback]

Don't get your hopes up too much when there are Muppets like this around....

Mark McGowan set to extend WA emergency powers until 2022

Western Australia is closer to further easing coronavirus restrictions as the government looks to extend its emergency powers until 2022.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Seat0B]

This one is scary:

Indonesian company fires staff for reusing COVID test swabs amid fears of another virus surge

As the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan ends, some are warning Indonesia could be headed towards a coronavirus situation comparable to that in India.

www.abc.net.au

Makes my prior hatred of group explosives screening look positively benign.

 

[Seat0B]

The irony of saying a week is a long time during the pandemic then making a prediction 4-5 months out not lost on me!

...or of us all trying to predict when bans will lift and international travel will resume

 

[Seat0B]

I wonder if Australia will open up for broader 'immediate family' to visit if they are fully vaccinated and can quarantine either at family home or even hotel?

I'm thinking parents, siblings etc. They may be allowed here before we can visit where they are??

In my case, parents in UK, fully vaccinated with AZ and brother in UAE waiting for 2nd Pfizer dose.

I find it strange that parents are not classed as immediate family.

Oh I hope that happens. My son in UAE has just had his second shot of AZ and so is fully vaccinated now. It would be an amazing boost to my morale if he could visit us and quarantine at home. it has been so frustrating to see him visiting UK, Greece, Georgia and Uzbekistan in the past 8-9 months, but unable to get here and we can't get to him.

At the rate we are going, after already not seeing him for 18 months, I am feeling very low about our prospects.

 

[hb13]

I wonder if Australia will open up for broader 'immediate family' to visit if they are fully vaccinated and can quarantine either at family home or even hotel?

I'm thinking parents, siblings etc. They may be allowed here before we can visit where they are??

In my case, parents in UK, fully vaccinated with AZ and brother in UAE waiting for 2nd Pfizer dose.

I find it strange that parents are not classed as immediate family.

To Australia, anyone outside of the country now is barely considered Australian - that's the simple answer. Its pretty disgraceful and there is nothing we can do about it. There are thousands of us to be reunited with family - does the government care? Not one iota. Vaccinated or not, doesn't matter.

 

[mviy]

The Finance Minister doesn't expect international travel to resume before next year: International travel still a long way off

With all the uncertainty when he was asked if he expected to resume mid next year he refused to speculate on a specific date.

One wonders how much longer QF can hold out hope of resuming international flights at the end of October. Whilst there are many on AFF that are furious with the restrictions, governments at all levels are well aware that we are in the minority.

 

[jonboixxx]

Vaccine passports the 'next step', says Scott Morrison

www.9news.com.au

Includes a few quotes from PM in 3AW chat.

 

[Brettmcg]

The Finance Minister doesn't expect international travel to resume before next year: International travel still a long way off

With all the uncertainty when he was asked if he expected to resume mid next year he refused to speculate on a specific date.

One wonders how much longer QF can hold out hope of resuming international flights at the end of October. Whilst there are many on AFF that are furious with the restrictions, governments at all levels are well aware that we are in the minority.

Is he seriously suggesting Australia will keep its border hermetically sealed until there is zero COVID risk in the world?

As Finance Minister, he'd want to have significant financial support up his sleeve for every business and employee reliant on the movement of foreigners in and out of this country, because if reopening takes until the end of 2022 there will be mass devastation across all of these industries.

I sincerely hope the current Federal Court challenges are successful in managing to overturn the outbound border ban. Yes there is a pandemic raging beyond our golden cage, but parts of the world are already planning how to safely re-engage, and all the Federal Government seems to be doing is bungling the vaccine rollout and stoking the fires of fear which they so vehemently railed against last year.

What a dumb, backwards, redneck, inward-looking country we have become under these uninspirational and totally uncreative Federal and State "leaders" (and I use that term loosely...)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Is he seriously suggesting Australia will keep its border hermetically sealed until there is zero COVID risk in the world?

They can't be! Surely?

Perhaps they're just releasing these statements every couple of days to keep it at the top of the news cycle and divert attention away from other issues?