Auckland International Airport has split its international terminal in two to enable safe quarantine-free travel.
The first flight out of Auckland is in the air under a new two-way trans-Tasman bubble arrangement between New Zealand and Australia. Those on board are some of the first people to leave New Zealand who can return to these shores on the same trip without having to spend two weeks in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ), something arrivals have not been able to do since April 7, 2020 when authorities made MIQ mandatory for incoming passengers in an effort to contain Covid-19. The first official flight from New Zealand under the new relaxed borders rules was Air New Zealand flight NZ 245 departing Wellington for Sydney at 6.05am.