The New Zealand government no longer requires international arrivals to prove their vaccination status or complete COVID-19 tests after arriving in the country. It comes as the nation also significantly relaxes its remaining domestic COVID-19 restrictions. Until yesterday, international passengers arriving in New Zealand were given two rapid antigen tests on arrival and required to … Continued
The Australian government has today lifted the requirement to wear face masks on domestic flights, as well as on international flights bound for Australia. It ends the mask mandate for air passengers that was first introduced by the Australian government in January 2021. Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Rex have all removed their requirement to … Continued
Most Australian states and territories have now removed all interstate and international travel requirements, including for unvaccinated travellers. WA was the last to do so, removing the requirement to apply for a G2G Pass to travel to WA on 29 April 2022. Australian states & territories are also now allowing quarantine-free travel from overseas for … Continued
If you’re looking for a safe destination to enjoy your next overseas holiday, look no further than Fiji – according to the Australian government. Over recent weeks and months, the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) has been updating the travel advice for many of the countries listed on its Smartraveller website. The first … Continued
The requirement to wear a face mask inside most Australian airports will come to an end this weekend, after the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) recommended “that it is no longer proportionate to mandate mask use in airport terminals”. It’s now up to individual states & territories to decide whether to follow this recommendation … Continued
Qantas and Virgin Australia will both stop offering additional flexibility to customers with domestic flight bookings at the end of this week, winding back the “Fly Flexible” and “Flexible Flying” policies that the respective airlines introduced at the beginning of the pandemic. Currently, both Qantas and Virgin Australia are allowing fee-free flight changes for any … Continued
Prior to COVID-19, the last major downturn to hit the aviation industry was the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Following this event, fewer people were choosing to spend money on travel. Crucially, for airlines, many business travellers were also no longer buying profitable Business or First Class tickets. There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has … Continued
Rex has quietly amended its COVID Refund Guarantee to make it almost impossible to actually get a refund in the future if you can’t travel due to COVID-19. Until recently, Rex offered a refund (minus its booking & card payment surcharges) if you needed to cancel your flight for any COVID-related reason. But on 28 … Continued
People arriving in Australia will no longer be required to get a pre-departure COVID-19 test, effective from 17 April 2022. This is the date that the federal government’s current Biosecurity Emergency Determination period will lapse. Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed yesterday that, “following medical advice”, the government will not renew this when it expires next month. … Continued
As the AFF on Air podcast continues its series on international travel in 2022, we turn our attention in this episode to the UK. In Episode 78, Matt chats to two Australian frequent flyers who recently travelled to London about their experiences. One of this episode’s guests is Andrew Holland, who flew Qantas Business Class … Continued
One of the biggest concerns that Australians have about going overseas at the moment, understandably, is catching COVID-19 while away and getting stuck somewhere. Unfortunately, this happened recently to Australian Frequent Flyer forum moderator Bill MacCubbin, who you may know on the forum as straitman. Bill recently caught COVID in Fiji but has since recovered … Continued
When Lufthansa announced it would introduce buy-on-board snacks on its long-haul flights last year, it promised “high quality” products that would better cater to the “diverse needs of guests”. In reality, the German airline just replaced the complimentary mid-flight refreshment on long-haul routes such as Frankfurt-Los Angeles with the option to purchase from an overpriced … Continued
