Digital Passenger Declaration Replaces Australia Travel Declaration

The Australian government’s new Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD) will replace the current Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) form from Friday, 18 February 2022. The DPD will also eventually replace the paper incoming passenger cards that currently need to be filled out on the plane when flying into Australia. Everyone arriving in Australia on or after 18 … Continued

What It’s Like Flying to Singapore in 2022

Since November 2021, Australians have been allowed to travel to Singapore under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) arrangement. But there’s a lot more paperwork involved than in pre-COVID times, as I recently experienced when I travelled from Melbourne to Singapore in the first week of February 2022. This article explains the procedures I had to … Continued

Australia’s International Border Reopening on 21 February 2022

Australia will finally reopen its international border to vaccinated tourists and anyone with an eligible visa to enter the country on 21 February 2022, almost two years since the border was closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was made today by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews … Continued

Qantas Delays Santiago Relaunch

Qantas has delayed the restart of its flights to Chile, with all Sydney-Santiago flights now removed from sale until 31 October 2022. Earlier this month, Qantas had been selling seats on its QF27/28 services between Sydney and Santiago from late March 2022. But all Qantas flights on this route have now been “zeroed out” until … Continued

Podcast #76: Is Overseas Travel in 2022 Really That Scary?

Australia’s international border officially reopened in November 2021. But with COVID-19 still sweeping across the world, overseas travel is still risky. It’s also a lot more expensive than normal with fewer flights available, more cancellations and multiple COVID tests required to cross borders. And that was before Omicron. Even though many Australians are keen to … Continued