First quarantine-free flights from Rarotonga to New Zealand 'fairly full', Cook Islands Prime Minister says

Cook Islands PM Mark Brown says the first flights from the Cook Islands to New Zealand under the new one-way travel bubble will be packed with students, their family members, and people in need of long-delayed health checks. Brown said that while the quarantine-free agreement has been “a long time” coming, “we’re very pleased that it is now commencing this week. “There will be a lot of very grateful people that will be coming through to Auckland very soon,” he said. Brown said the first flights from Rarotonga to Auckland on Thursday, January 21 and Saturday, January 23 will be “fairly full”. “We’ve got a year’s worth of people wanting to do medical check-ups – see their specialists. It coincides with the start of the school year, so we’ve got family members, we've got students heading to New Zealand for university or secondary school, and … others that will be coming over.” Cook Islanders will be able to travel to New Zealand without having to quarantine upon arrival from Thursday, but New Zealanders will have to wait for a two-way agreement. An Air New Zealand spokesperson said the airline had been encouraged by an increase in bookings after the one-way agreement was announced, particularly for January and February. “The first couple of flights inbound are showing strength,” she said. “This is as expected as we bring the first wave of Cook Islanders that meet the bubble requirements into New Zealand quarantine-free. We see this as a really positive step towards a full two-way bubble with the Cook Islands.” <br/>