The words are significant given Victoria halted taking stranded Australians during its second lockdown and flights from India were temporarily suspended nationwide in May when the Delta COVID variant became dominant.
Domestic aviation is facing its biggest challenge since the start of the COVID pandemic as more state borders closed and locally acquired cases emerged nationwide.
New Zealand has suspended the trans-Tasman bubble to all of Australia for the first time – and hinted it could restart with passengers requiring a negative test to fly.
Victoria on Thursday night upgraded its NSW border ban to include all of Greater Sydney and Wollongong after 11 new cases were announced from the Bondi cluster.
New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority has effectively lifted its ban on the 737 MAX, after granting Fiji Airways official approval to resume flight to and from New Zealand using its 737 MAX jets.
It comes as Sydney’s Bondi cluster rose to 31 cases overnight and NSW Premier Gladys introduced some of the toughest restrictions on citizens since the original lockdown – including wearing masks in offices.