International tourism for Australians by Christmas unlikely, airlines say

Foreign airlines say international tourism is unlikely to resume by Christmas because there’s too much uncertainty surrounding quarantine requirements and vaccine passports, with one source dismissing the Morrison government’s timetable as “naive”. Even when the international border reopens, flights in and out of Australia will operate at a “fraction of pre-pandemic levels” due to home quarantine requirements, the airlines have warned. That means Australians eager to fly overseas could face difficulty securing tickets, the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia (Bara), which represents airlines including Emirates, Etihad and United, said on Wednesday. The federal government has foreshadowed the international border will reopen by Christmas with seven-day home quarantine for vaccinated travellers entering the country. That, Bara argued, was unlikely to facilitate the return of a commercially viable international aviation industry in the short term.<br/>