From November 2021, Australians are once again permitted to travel internationally. This will be the first time the country’s borders have reopened since Australia closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian flag carrier Qantas has so far announced its international flight schedules departing from Sydney and Melbourne. It may only be a matter of time until international flights resume in other capital cities like Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.
But how do Australians really feel about international borders reopening? A recent survey conducted by Australian finance broker Savvy revealed that two-thirds of Australians feel “positive” about border reopening.
image credit: savvy.com.au
And when it comes to destinations that Australians are looking forward to visiting, it looks like New Zealand and the Pacific nations are top of the list, ahead of Asia and Europe.
However, travel comeback is still in the early stages, and with different COVID-19 global travel restrictions still in place, destination choices are currently limited to where we can travel to, not necessarily where we would like to. In short, there are fewer travel choices compared to before the pandemic.
For instance, at the time of writing, Bali and New Zealand, two extremely popular destinations among Australians, still remain closed to visitors from Down Under.
Can Australians travel to Bali?
On October 14, 2021, Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport officially opened to tourists.
Vaccinated travelers from 19 countries, including China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, as well as parts of Western Europe and the Arabian Gulf, can now travel to Bali and Indonesia’s Riau Islands.
Travelers are subject to a five-day quarantine and COVID-19 testing.
Australia, unfortunately, isn’t part of the approved countries list. However, both Australian and Indonesian governments are currently discussing the possibility of a ‘travel bubble’.
Can Australians travel to New Zealand?
The Trans Tasman (Australia – New Zealand) travel bubble was only open for about three months before it was closed due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Australia.
According to the Unite Against COVID-19 site (the official Trans Tasman travel bubble site), the New Zealand government will review opening the travel bubble in mid-to-late November 2021, to allow more time for New Zealand vaccination rates to increase.
Currently, only New Zealand residents and citizens (and their children and partners) are permitted to enter New Zealand.
So, here’s a list of some international destinations where Australians can currently fly to, as of October 28, 2021.
As travel restrictions worldwide are updated daily, we encourage you to check the latest status of respective government rulings in each destination.
Top international destinations where Australians can fly to from November 2021:
Los Angeles
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Getting there:
Qantas will resume flights from Sydney to Los Angeles in November 2021, and from Melbourne on December 18, 2021.
United Airlines and Delta Air Lines are also still flying between Sydney and Los Angeles.
Requirements:
The United States has set out its requirements for fully vaccinated travelers to enter from other countries from November 8, 2021.
Along with providing proof of vaccination, non-citizens or non-permanent residents will also have to present a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of departure.
What you need to know:
The CDC has determined that for the purpose of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include those FDA-approved or authorized, as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization.
Currently, the accepted COVID-19 vaccines by the FDA and WHO are:
Janssen / J&J
Pfizer-BioNTech
Moderna
AstraZeneca
Covishield
BIBP / Sinopharm
Sinovac
Hawaii
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Getting there:
Beginning December 13, 2021, Hawaiian Airlines will resume its five-times-weekly service between Sydney and Honolulu.
Qantas will also resume its Honolulu flights by mid-December 2021.
Requirements:
Same as Los Angeles / USA (see above)
What you need to know:
Along with California, Hawaii has the lowest COVID-19 rate per capita in the United States at roughly 61 cases per 100,000 residents.
Singapore
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Getting there:
Qantas has announced that it will resume flights to Singapore from Sydney and Melbourne by late November. Jetstar will also recommence flying four times a week between Melbourne and Singapore.
Additionally, Singapore Airlines (SIA1) (SINGY) announced that it is returning its much-loved daily A380 Singapore to Sydney service from December 1, 2021.
Requirements:
Singapore has introduced a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) for select countries, and Australia is the latest addition in the VTL list.
For entry into Singapore, travelers from Australia must be fully vaccinated, and undergo a pre-departure PCR test that should be taken 72 hours prior to the flight.
London
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Getting there:
From the first week of November 2021, passengers departing from Sydney and Melbourne can fly to London via Darwin on Qantas’ Kangaroo Route.
Eligible passengers can use Qantas’ pop-up transit lounge at Darwin International Airport.
Requirements:
The UK currently has seven countries on its ‘Red List’ and, while Australia isn’t one of them, we recommend that you still check the official list here. It should be noted that one of the entry requirements is that you have not visited a red listed country or territory in the 10 days prior to arriving in England.
Fully vaccinated travelers from green list countries can enter the UK without a pre-departure negative test or quarantining, but they must do a test on or before day two of their arrival.
Non-vaccinated travelers can also visit the UK, but are subject to extra testing and quarantine requirements.
Full details of entry procedures and requirements are here.
What you need to know:
You must be fully vaccinated by one of the following approved vaccines at least 14 days prior to arriving in the UK:
Oxford / AstraZeneca
PfizerBioNTech
Moderna
Janssen / J&J
Dubai
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Getting there:
Emirates is returning its A380 Sydney – Dubai service by December 1, 2021.
All three classes, First Class, Business and Economy, will be available when this service resumes. This means that the upper deck bar is open once more for passengers to enjoy.
Requirements:
All passengers travelling to Dubai from any point of origin (GCC countries included) must hold a negative COVID‑19 RT‑PCR test certificate for a test taken no more than 72 hours before departure. Full details can be found here.
What you need to know:
The COVID-19 test should be a Reverse Transcription‑Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT‑PCR) test. Other test certificates including antibody tests, NHS COVID Test certificates, Rapid PCR tests and home testing kits are not accepted in Dubai.
Travelers must bring an official printed or digital certificate in English or Arabic to check-in. SMS certificates are not accepted.
Abu Dhabi
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Getting there:
Etihad announced that it is restarting its Sydney-Abu Dhabi service on November 1, 2021. The 14-hour flight will be operated using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Requirements:
Abu Dhabi has lifted quarantine procedures for vaccinated travelers coming from all countries.
Abu Dhabi currently accepts vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Prevention Society (MOHAP).
The complete requirements and procedures can be read here.
Vaccinated travelers must have their certificates of vaccination validated via this website.
What you need to know:
Abu Dhabi accepts the following COVID-19 vaccines:
Sinopharm vaccine
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Sputnik vaccine
3 Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine
Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Moderna vaccine
Jamalika (Sputnik V) vaccine
Fiji
Martin Valigursky / Shutterstock.com
Getting there:
Qantas is bringing back its direct Sydney to Nadi flights on December 7, 2021.
Fiji Airways has also announced it is ending its 20-month hiatus and bringing back its 14 times a week Sydney to Nadi flights
Requirements:
Fiji allows quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated visitors from Australia, whom it considers to be one of its ‘travel partner countries’.
Complete details of requirements and procedures can be found here.
Travelers over 12 years of age must undergo a RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to boarding.
Fiji currently accepts the following COVID-19 vaccines:
AstraZeneca
Pfizer
Moderna
Janssen/ J&J
What you need to know:
All foreign visitors to Fiji must have a confirmed booking at a ‘Care Fiji Committed’ (CFC) accommodation. Make sure you have documented proof of a confirmed three-night CFC booking before your flight.
Check the list of all CFC accommodation here.
