New South Wales announced on Friday it would open its international borders to people returning to Australia and permanent residents from November 1, with arrivals expected to no longer need to undergo two weeks of hotel quarantine. The state is also piloting a seven-day home qua

New South Wales announced on Friday that it would open its international borders to people returning to Australia and permanent residents from November 1, with arrivals expected to no longer need to undergo two weeks of quarantine in hotels. The state is also piloting a seven-day home quarantine program.

Qantas has been preparing to restart international flights after Australia announced plans to significantly ease border restrictions earlier this month.

Anyone who is not fully vaccinated will still be sent to hotel quarantine, with numbers capped at 210 people per week.

However, Australia insists it has not yet decided when tourists and students will be allowed to return to the country.

Morrison said there was "no reason" for other states to use NSW's decision to lift quarantine as an excuse to keep their domestic borders closed for longer.

From November 1, Qantas will operate five weekly flights from Sydney to London via Darwin and four weekly flights from Sydney to Los Angeles. Other tourist destinations such as Singapore, Fiji and Vancouver were still postponed to December 18, but may now move forward.

All passengers traveling on Qantas international flights must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Travelers entering Australia must have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure.

During the first phase of reopening, only Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members will be allowed to fly to Australia.