The New Zealand Government has firmed up entry dates to allow fully vaccinated New Zealanders to head home and skip the hotel quarantine process. The New Zealand border will reopen to vaccinated New Zealanders from Australia at 11.59 pm on February 27 and reopen to New Zealanders in the rest of the world on March 13.

Staged border reopening from February 27

Thursday morning's announcement follows the New Zealand Government previously reneging on its promise to begin reopening its borders in mid-January. Today's announcement offers some comfort for stranded New Zealanders and the airlines that hope to fly them home.

At this stage, after the first two reopening dates, New Zealand will allow in current offshore temporary visa holders who can still meet the relevant visa requirements from Tuesday, April 12, 2022. New Zealand plans to let in fully vaccinated travelers from Australia and other travelers eligible for visa-waiver entry at an unspecified date in July.

Finally, at an unspecified date in October, New Zealand will reopen to visitors from anywhere in the world and all categories of visa holders.

“This is a very carefully developed plan that replaces MIQ for the vast majority of travelers while ensuring we maintain ongoing measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community from recent arrivals,” said COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins.

“By the time we start to reopen our border, we’ll be one of the most vaccinated and most boosted countries in the world, and the COVID-19 protection framework will be well established in helping to manage COVID outbreaks."

At a media conference following the announcement, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said those mid-year dates could get fast-tracked if all goes well.

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New Zealand let Kiwis stuck in Australia come home first, giving Air New Zealand's services from Australian cities like Brisbane (pictured) some lift. Photo: Brisbane Airport Corporation

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Decision gives Air New Zealand a much-needed boost

The decision to start raising the border boom gates follows a fiasco last week when a pregnant New Zealander in Afghanistan was denied permission to return home to give birth. In a move that acutely embarrassed the New Zealand Government, the Taliban offered the woman safe shelter in the absence of her home country doing so.

Today's decision and announcement of firm dates come as much overdue relief for such people. It will also help put some lift under home-grown carrier Air New Zealand whose international flights and passenger numbers have been severely curtailed by New Zealand's border closures.

Air New Zealand is currently flying into Auckland from Sydney and Melbourne each day. The airline is also operating regular services from Brisbane and some ad hoc passenger flights from Perth. The availability of quarantine beds in New Zealand dictates how many people can fly on these services.

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Air New Zealand flew just 11,000 passengers on its international flights in November. Photo: Getty Images

Home isolation to replace hotel quarantine

The capacity squeeze on Air New Zealand will ease slightly from the end of February when it can fly home fully vaccinated New Zealanders out of Australia. Flights from other markets, such as the US, will inevitably see improved traffic numbers in March as New Zealanders from those countries are also allowed to return home.

Air New Zealand's latest passenger traffic numbers available reveal in November 2021, the airline flew approximately 7,000 passengers on its trans-Tasman and regional South Pacific flights, around 3,000 passengers to and from North America, and a further 1,000 passengers to and from Asia.

It's not quite carte blanche for New Zealanders soon to head home. While the dreaded hotel quarantine is ending, a self-isolation regime and tests on arrival are sticking around for the time being. Hotel quarantine will remain in place for any non-vaccinated arrivals.