AUSTRALIA. Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) has welcomed today’s announcement by the Queensland State Government that its borders will reopen without restrictions for international travellers from 22 January.
From 1am on Saturday, double-vaccinated international travellers will no longer have to undertake quarantine, needing only to complete a rapid antigen test within 24 hours of their arrival. The move follows the lifting of Queensland’s domestic border restrictions from 15 January, which took place as the state reached close to 90% levels of double-dose COVID-19 vaccination among its population.
BAC CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff gave his reaction, describing the news as “incredibly exciting for everyone at Brisbane Airport, our airlines and everyone associated with international aviation and visitation”.
“We look forward to working cooperatively with airlines, the Government and the entire travel industry, to recreate and support demand for Queensland and see visitor numbers rebuild” – Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff
He added: “It takes us one step closer to reuniting with the world. Our team at Brisbane Airport is more than ready for Saturday morning. They have kept the lights on throughout the pandemic and have done a phenomenal job in adapting to the ever-changing requirements over the past two years.”
De Graaff acknowledged that rebuilding international travel into and out of Brisbane Airport will take many months, “as we will need destinations for Australians and inbound market nations to reopen”. He said BAC is not expecting to return to 2019 route and passenger levels until 2024.
He continued: “In the coming months, we hope to see some uptick in some passenger sectors coming into Queensland, especially with the return of international students for the commencement of university term. The State’s agricultural harvest is also under way and needing workers.
“Most importantly, there will be many families who will be greatly relieved that they can now reunite in Queensland as and when they need. We think the visiting friends and family sector will be the first to jump at this chance and hop on a plane to Queensland.”
BAC also paid tribute to airlines which have maintained their Brisbane Airport services throughout the pandemic and continued to carry repatriating Aussies and Queensland exports. In doing so, BAC praised carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand.
De Graaf said: “Although Queensland remains a world-famous destination and Brisbane remains a strong market for airlines to serve, airline businesses have suffered greatly from the pandemic, which means the competition amongst destinations for very scarce airline resources will be intense.
“We look forward to working cooperatively with airlines, the Government and the entire travel industry, to recreate and support demand for Queensland and see visitor numbers rebuild.”
