Border reopens to international visitors tonight

Tourists will not need to isolate on arrival; they will be required to have had a pre-departure...
Tourists will not need to isolate on arrival; they will be required to have had a pre-departure test, with two further rapid antigen tests on day 0/1 and 5/6. Photo: RNZ (file)
For the first time in more than two years, New Zealand's border will reopen to international visitors at midnight tonight.

On March 19 in 2020, New Zealand snapped its border shut to anyone without citizenship or residency before any Covid-19-related deaths were recorded.

It was the first time in our history such a move was made, with the ban also including those from the Pacific.

New Zealand has already reopened the border to vaccinated Australians and some international students from 11.59pm on April 12.

From 11.59pm on Sunday, May 1, vaccinated travellers from visa-waiver countries such as the large tourist markets of the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Germany, Korea and Singapore, and those with valid visitor visas, will be able to arrive.

Tourists will not need to isolate on arrival; they will be required to have had a pre-departure test, with two further rapid antigen tests on day 0/1 and 5/6.

Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said almost 1000 people will arrive in Auckland tomorrow on the first three flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Fiji.

The first is NZ 5 from Los Angeles arriving at 5.45am, then NZ 7 from San Francisco arriving at 6.10am and NZ 953 from Nadi arriving at 5pm.

Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty said today that demand had "exceeded expectations" and many  services were filling up.

"We're pleased with how bookings are going across the network, both domestic and international. This is welcome news for the New Zealand tourism industry who has weathered a difficult storm over the past 800 days.

"To help New Zealand's tourism industry recover, we're ramping up our network as quickly as we can – with Honolulu and Houston routes resuming on 4 July and 7 July, respectively."

The airline has been struggling to prepare for the influx in international visitors due to staff recruitment issues.

In the six months since October 2021, Air New Zealand said it had rehired around 700 flight attendants and pilots with more opportunities on the horizon over the next six months when international passenger flying starts to increase.

- RNZ and ODT Online