SYDNEY, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Australia's national carrier Qantas announced on Wednesday that it would increase weekly flights to New Zealand as the neighboring country brought forward its reopening date to next month.
From April 13, Qantas and its subsidiary Jetstar would run a total of 30 return flights per week between a number of cities in Australia and New Zealand.
The number of flights would be further increased as travel is expected to ramp up into the middle of 2022. Before the pandemic, 170 return services ran between the two countries each week.
"Qantas and Jetstar are gearing up to help Australia reconnect with New Zealand after more than two years apart, and one short travel bubble," said CEO of Qantas Domestic and International Andrew David.
"New Zealand was Australia's second-biggest source of international visitors before the pandemic, and Australians were the biggest source of visitors to New Zealand. So this is an important milestone as part of the recovery for both countries."
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Wednesday morning that the reopening would be brought forward from October to April 13.
From this date, fully-vaccinated travelers from both countries would be allowed to travel without the need to quarantine following a negative PCR test. ■