Hugs and tears as New Zealand welcomes Australian visitors
New Zealand welcomed hundreds of travellers from Australia with emotional scenes as it opened its borders to its trans-Tasmanian neighbour for the first time since mid-2021.
Maori cultural performers greeted travellers while families and friends hugged and cried at the Auckland International Airport where two flights from Australia landed this morning.
Those waiting in the arrivals lounge held up boards saying "Hello & Kia Ora & G'day & Welcome". "Just so, so excited to be back, and all I really want to do is spend time with the family really," Jane Cheeseman told the New Zealand Herald, as she and her two children were reunited with her sister ahead of Easter holiday.
New Zealand had some of the toughest curbs in the world during the pandemic and its borders have been closed for most of the time since March 2020, except for a short-lived travel bubble with Australia last year that was suspended after a few months as Covid-19 spread.
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