The long awaited Australia-New Zealand travel bubble means visitors no longer need to quarantine on arrival. Thousands of passengers were booked to fly between the two nations on Monday.

Both countries have contained Covid outbreaks and kept infection rates low, largely due to tight restrictions.

Excited passengers crowded airports in Australia for flights to various parts of New Zealand on Monday, with some rising before dawn to get ready to board passenger Dawn Tratt told that, ‘I didn’t realise how emotional I was going to be today’.

While many buzzed with the anticipation of seeing loved ones, for others it was a more sombre occasion.

‘My older brother passed away last week on Thursday, we couldn’t get there last week, but it’s given us an opportunity to go back home today without quarantine so it’s good, very good to go and lay him to rest,’ said John Palalagi, one of the passenger in Sydney.

Australia and New Zealand shut their borders in March last year and brought in compulsory quarantine for returning nationals.

Since October, New Zealand travellers have been allowed to enter most Australian states without quarantine, though this had not been reciprocated amid concerns about sporadic Covid outbreaks. To fly under the bubble’s rules, passengers must have spent 14 days before departure in either Australia or New Zealand. They must not be waiting the results of a Covid test, nor have any Covid symptoms, amongst other rules.