A staff member greets passengers at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 1, 2021. After Australia's two largest cities Sydney and Melbourne scrapped overseas arrival restrictions due to COVID-19, hundreds of Australians began to fly home, after being stuck overseas since borders first slammed shut in late March 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
SYDNEY, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- As Australia's two largest cities Sydney and Melbourne scrapped overseas arrival restrictions due to COVID-19, hundreds of Australians have begun to fly home, after being stuck overseas since borders first slammed shut in late March 2020.
Fourteen international flights are expected to touch down in Sydney airport on Monday, and passengers from Singapore and Hong Kong are due to arrive at Melbourne airport over the day.
At present, Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) are the only states that have lifted their cap and quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated overseas arrivals.
From Monday fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents would also be allowed to leave Australia without a previously required travel exemption.
While announcing the return of regional travel in NSW at regional Dubbo Airport, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet praised the lifting of restrictions as "the start of a new journey".
"As we open up, we won't go backwards, we will start to re-join the world, and that's going to be great for the state," he said.
As NSW continues to claw its way back to normalcy, the state recorded 135 new locally acquired cases and four additional deaths in the 24 hours to 8:00 p.m. Sunday night.
The lifting of restrictions for international students, skilled migrants and tourists intending to enter Australia has yet to be finalized.
In NSW 93.6 percent of the over-16 population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 87.7 percent have been fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile Victoria saw another uptick in cases, recording 1,471 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to midnight Sunday as well as four deaths, an increase from 1,036 cases reported the previous day.
The state hit its 80-percent vaccination milestone on Sunday. Enditem
Passengers exchange farewell at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 1, 2021. After Australia's two largest cities Sydney and Melbourne scrapped overseas arrival restrictions due to COVID-19, hundreds of Australians began to fly home, after being stuck overseas since borders first slammed shut in late March 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
A staff member walks past a welcome advertisement at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 1, 2021. After Australia's two largest cities Sydney and Melbourne scrapped overseas arrival restrictions due to COVID-19, hundreds of Australians began to fly home, after being stuck overseas since borders first slammed shut in late March 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
Passengers line up for COVID-19 check at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 1, 2021. After Australia's two largest cities Sydney and Melbourne scrapped overseas arrival restrictions due to COVID-19, hundreds of Australians began to fly home, after being stuck overseas since borders first slammed shut in late March 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
