Victoria will allow direct flights from New Zealand from Monday, after the state recorded a seventh consecutive day of no new coronavirus cases and no deaths. Premier Daniel Andrews said he had written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison this morning to ask him to facilitate the change.
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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Friday that he had written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison that morning confirming the flights could resume on November 9.

“That is direct flights into Tullamarine from New Zealand so that New Zealanders will be able to travel direct to Melbourne and throughout Victoria,” Mr Andrews said. “While we found ourselves inadvertently in the New Zealand bubble, I’m not sure if bubbles have doors but the front door will now be (open).”
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Key points:

• Prime Minister Scott Morrison will today unveil plans for 130 direct flights between Hobart and New Zealand per year
• The plan will cost the Federal Government $50 million, with flights expected to start in January
• It will be the first time since 1996 that the direct flight route will be available to travellers

Flights between Tasmania and New Zealand could resume as early as next year under a new deal to be announced by the Prime Minister today.

Scott Morrison, in Tasmania for the Liberal Party's annual conference, will unveil plans for 130 direct flights between Hobart and New Zealand per year.
That's equal to three flights per week in warmer months, and two flights per week in winter.
It is not clear whether an international carrier will pursue the route.
The Australian Border Force and Australian Federal Police will have to be stationed at the Hobart International Airport to allow for the flights — but it appears that will happen on a fly-in, fly-out basis.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made a new announcement that will come as welcome relief for Australians stuck overseas due to COVID-19.

Tasmania will become a new international entry point into Australia, both for citizens stranded overseas and for New Zealand tourists. The Prime Minister was in Hobart on Saturday to make the dual announcements alongside the state’s Premier, Peter Gutwein. Three flights will bring 450 Australians back via Tasmania over the coming three months, the leaders said.
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As for the tourist flights, the plan is to allow 130 flights over the next year from New Zealand. That would bring about 30,000 visitors. “This will stand Hobart Airport in a good (position) to become the international gateway to Tasmania,” Mr Gutwein said. The year-long tourism project will be subject to a review in January 2022. The route to New Zealand will be the first direct flight connection between that country and Tasmania since 1996.

Qantas and Jetstar have cut back flights across the Tasman until the end of January as a result of border restrictions and the limited number of quarantine spaces available in New Zealand.Qantas will operate two services a week between Sydney and Auckland with Jetstar to operate two to three flights a week from Sydney to Auckland until the end of January. Before the pandemic the airlines were flying up to 150 transtasman flights a week

The airlines slashed flights in March but restored a handful when a one-way bubble into New South Wales was started last month. Qantas could introduce more flights could be restored if the a two-way bubble between Australia and New Zealand is introduced
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Some Qantas and Jetstar customers have had their Christmas travel plans thwarted as the airlines scale back flights to and from New Zealand. The companies say the decision is based on managed isolation facilities in New Zealand reaching capacity.
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Customers who already have a voucher for managed isolation and who have had a cancelled flight will be re-accommodated by Air New Zealand services or moved to another Qantas or Jetstar flight. All other customers will receive a credit to the value of their booking, valid to the end of 2022. A Qantas group spokesperson told 1 NEWS the company is "working with New Zealand authorities to ensure that our schedules align with available quarantine spaces.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has squashed any hope of Australians being able to see their Kiwi friends by Christmas, despite our neighbours across the ditch being allowed into most of our states and territories. It was hoped a trans-Tasman bubble could be locked in before the end of the year, allowing Australians and Kiwis to travel unrestricted between the two nations.
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The NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has confirmed a Sydney hotel quarantine worker has tested positive for COVID-19, ending the state's 26-day streak without any locally acquired cases.
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