Australia reopened its borders today, almost 600 days after they closed to stem the pandemic of the new coronavirus, with Sydney Airport experiencing moving scenes of long-separated separations.
On March 20, 2020, Australia imposed one of the strictest border closure measures in the world to protect itself from COVID-19. Tens of thousands of Australians living abroad have not been able to return home for 19 months. Flights were infrequent and citizens allowed to return had to go through an expensive 14-day quarantine at a hotel.
The country's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have decided to abandon the measures and fully vaccinated Australians can now travel without quarantine. The Australian airline Qantas had grounded a large part of its fleet, and its chief executive, Alan Joyce, welcomed the resumption of international flights, "which took a long time to arrive".
"It is wonderful to see that Australians can return to their families after a long time apart," he said. "This is a great day for Australia," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who posted a message on Facebook saying the country was "ready to take off!"
At Sydney Airport this morning, the first passengers to disembark could not hide their joy at their return, which was captured in moving images of hugs with their loved ones. "It's something 'magical,'" Tim Turner, who had not seen his son for a year, told reporters.
Julie Chu, who returned from Britain, said she was trying to hold back her tears as she landed. "I was looking forward to touching my mom's hand when I saw her. I longed to hug her ", continued the Australian who returned to see her mother who is in the hospital. "It will be very moving," he added.
For some, such as Lucinda Bottlero, the border opening came too late. "I had to see my family for four years and we have been trying to come for a year and a half now," he said. "I have mixed feelings because I could not see my father alive again. He died just a week ago, but it is good that I will be able to go to his funeral. "
While some were disembarking, others were preparing to leave Australia to meet their relatives abroad. Abhi Bajaz, 35, said he was very excited to fly to the United States to celebrate Christmas with his family, whom he has been seeing for almost two years. "I waited a long time for this day," he said before leaving for Los Angeles.
The frequency of flights will gradually return, although the passengers on the first flights were few. However, more than one million foreigners living in Australia remain trapped in the country, unable to return to their home countries to revisit their friends or family, as relaxation measures apply mainly to Australians.
Also some Australian states, in which vaccination rates against COVID-19 remain low, will remain almost closed. A mandatory 14-day quarantine will remain in effect.
As of today, Thailand has also significantly eased its border restrictions for the first time in about a year and a half, in a first test of tourism demand and travel to Asia following the new coronavirus pandemic.
Hundreds of vaccinated foreign tourists arrived in the Thai capital Bangkok for a quarantine trip after the Southeast Asian country gave the green light to those visitors from more than 60 countries, including China and the United States.
Some European countries are also on the list of those whose vaccinated citizens are allowed to visit the country, as Thailand, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region, is targeting tourists from the northern hemisphere who want to escape the winter.
The Thai Ministry of Finance forecasts only 180.000 arrivals from abroad this year and 7 million next year, compared to about 40 million in 2019. The new program implemented by the country requires guests to stay for one first night in an approved hotel in advance and a negative test before they can be moved to other areas.