Passengers arriving in Auckland on three flights today did not collect their luggage at the airport, as part of a trial that sees the bags taken directly to managed isolation hotels.
Passengers wait for their flight at Auckland Airport.
Photo: 123RF
It comes as Auckland Airport prepares for arrivals without quarantine from Australia in 10 days.
In the information on the government’s MIQ website, passengers are told that their luggage will be collected and delivered to them four to eight hours later.
Two Air New Zealand flights from Los Angeles and Perth and one Emirates flight from Dubai were selected for the test.
Auckland Airport said the change was necessary because it separated the arrival area for passengers destined for MIQ facilities from those for trans-Tasman flights after April 18.
The carousels would accommodate the largest number of Australian arrivals, but there was not enough space for a separate baggage collection area for MIQ arrivals.
The MIQ website told passengers on the three test flights that they would move throughout the airport without checked baggage, unless a specific inspection was required by border officials.
“Your journey through the Auckland terminal may be different from what you have experienced before (or planned) and some processes may take longer,” he said.
“You won’t be reunited with your checked baggage for a while, so make sure you have everything you need during that time – like a change of clothes, medicines or essential supplies for your children in your baggage. by hand.
“For those in the Auckland facilities it could be 4 to 6 hours. For those in the Hamilton and Rotorua facilities it could be 6 to 8 hours.”
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