Christchurch Airport says it is ready for transtasman bubble

Christchurch Airport says it is ready for a two-way transtasman bubble which could be in place next month.

The airport welcomed news today of a possible re-start to transtasman travel and said it had been safe and ready for such a bubble since last October.

Chief aeronautical and commercial officer Justin Watson says the airport's processes are all in place, have been approved by government agencies and offer a safe environment.

"We have been ready and safe for months to welcome both travellers and partner airlines who travel the Tasman, with others waiting to come here from further afield,'' he said.

The airport had made changes to allow for separate processing of "red" and "green" flights based on schedule separation and cleaning.

"We have also begun construction to physically split the international arrivals area into two distinct pathways to allow simultaneous operations, because we anticipate red and green flights will be required for some time."

The airport's frontline staff have been vaccinated and are looking forward to safely welcoming international travellers again, said Watson.

International airlines Qantas, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Emirates and Singapore Airlines have continued to operate into Christchurch across the Tasman during the pandemic, taking high-value South Island produce to international markets.

"Like us, the South Island tourism industry is eager to welcome Australians back, " Watson said.

The airport used to handle almost 1.4 million passengers a year on the Tasman and welcomed up to 32 aircraft movements a day.

Auckland Airport has also taken steps to separate passengers according to their origin and Covid risk.

The Government is under growing pressure to start a two-way arrangement with Australia, although yesterday Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said a transtasman travel bubble was still at least three weeks away.

Hipkins said airlines and airports would need at least three weeks to put practices in place so a bubble could operate safely.

Only one visitor from Australia so far this year tested positive for Covid-19 while in managed isolation, and health experts have described a transtasman bubble as very low risk.