Holiday-starved fully vaccinated Kiwis can now fly to Fiji and its 333 islands for two-way quarantine-free travel. The country’s national airline Fiji Airways departs Auckland Airport at 5:15PM and touches down in Nadi on March 5 at 07:00 PM with a plane full of keen holidaymakers for the first time since March 2019.
Tourism Fiji is currently observing a 55 per cent increase in traffic to their website, fiji.travel in the first 24-hours after the announcement of New Zealand’s home isolation requirements easing, as Kiwis explore Fiji as a post-pandemic holiday destination.
Fiji Airways is currently operating four flights a week from Auckland, New Zealand, with daily flights scheduled to launch from 14th April. The airline has scheduled to launch up to three flights a week from Christchurch from 14th April, and up to two flights a week from Wellington from 13th April.
“We’re so excited to finally resume commercial flights between New Zealand and Nadi after two long years. We’ve seen an influx of Kiwis interested in flying to Fiji and we expect to see the demand continue to increase over the coming months. It’s a joy to be able to welcome our Kiwi neighbours back on board with our famous hospitality and friendly Bula Spirit and safely transport them on a long-overdue holiday in Fiji,” explains Fiji Airways managing director & CEO Andre Viljoen.
Brent Hill, Tourism Fiji CEO explains “Fiji and our people can’t wait to welcome Kiwis back to our shores. We’ve been waiting for this moment for two years and I can assure New Zealand that Fiji is ready to welcome you back safely for two-way quarantine free travel with our Care Fiji Commitment. Fiji is well and truly open for happiness and we can’t wait to give them the holiday that they all deserve right now.”
Sonya Lawson, Tourism Fiji regional director for NZ explains “We’re anticipating high demand from New Zealand with the borders opening. Fiji has always been a popular hot spot for Kiwis, previously being Fiji’s second largest source market and accounting for over 200,000 visitors each year and we’ve seen that many Kiwis are already eager to get back to the place where happiness finds them.”
Safety is a priority for Fiji and its national airline.
Fiji successfully opened to the world on December 1 2021, boasts world-leading vaccination rates (93 per cent of eligible population) and has launched the Care Fiji Commitment (CFC) programme. Approved by the World Health Organisation, World Travel & Tourism Council and accredited by Aspen Medical the Commitment is a nationwide programme applying best practice health and safety measures designed to protect Fiji’s locals and its travellers.
Learn more about the Care Fiji Commitment here.
Fiji Airways’ entire workforce is vaccinated and has implemented an award-winning Travel Ready programme dedicated to the safety and wellness of guests and staff.
The airline is the only airline in the Australia-Pacific region to achieve both a Skytrax 5-Star COVID Safety rating and the highest Hospital Grade “Diamond” certification by APEX Health and Safety. Fiji Airways also has medically qualified Customer Wellness Champions onboard to offer medical guidance and assistance if required.
The new normal for international travel
To allow ample time for increased documentation checks and to help minimise delays, Fiji Airways international check-in counters currently open 4 hours prior to departure and close 2 hours prior to departure.
Travellers to Fiji must be fully vaccinated with a Fiji recognised dose, be from a Travel Partner country, which New Zealand is considered and provide a negative Rapid Antigen Test no more than 24 hours prior to departure or a negative PCR taken no more than two calendar days prior to departure.
Once they arrive on Fiji’s shores, travellers can holiday in designated travel-safe areas where they can enjoy the best of Fiji knowing that everyone they interact with will be fully vaccinated. For more information on travel requirements form New Zealand, please visit fiji.travel/covid-19
Fiji is just a short three-hour flight from Auckland and four hours from Christchurch and Wellington. Kiwis can fly with the national airline from just $499 NZD per person economy class and $1,190 NZD per person business class, plus Fiji Airways is also offering exclusive package holidays. These discounted rates are available for a limited time only.
New travel perks for Kiwis to experience
Kiwis can experience a suite of new travel perks when flying with Fiji Airways including increased baggage allowance from 23kg to 30kg for economy class passengers on international flights, free access to PressReader with more 7,000 publications and a new complementary ‘Our Ocean Our Life’ in-flight activity pack for kids, dedicated to educating the future generation on the importance of preserving Fiji’s fragile marine environment.
From 14th March, Kiwis can enjoy the new onboard menu from renowned Fijian-New Zealand Chef Richard Cross. Cross was recently appointed Executive Chef of Fiji Airways and has given all catering functions a rehaul including new menus launching onboard every quarter.
The revolutionary ‘Resort Check-In’ feature with Fiji Airways, believed to be the first of its kind in the Pacific, has just launched at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa and will launch at the Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort March 15th.
Currently also available at the Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort, the complimentary service for Fiji Airways passengers includes checking in the guest’s luggage and issuing boarding passes directly at the resort, leaving them free to enjoy Fiji for a few more hours. Travellers then get to bypass check-in at the airport and head straight to security.
