Today marks 100 days since Western Australia opened its border to vaccinated international passengers at Perth Airport, at one minute past midnight on 3 March 2022.
For passengers landing at Perth Airport over the past 100 days, the first to welcome them have been the dedicated men and women of the Australian Border Force (ABF).
ABF Commander West James Copeman said ABF officers are welcoming back international travellers after 697 days of COVID-related travel restrictions.
“While the number of international passengers certainly decreased with border restrictions, the number of protocols and complexity increased,” Commander Copeman said.
“The ABF is no different to other frontline areas as our officers had to adapt and adjust to a very different setting at the airport, which again changed when borders re-opened in WA on 3 March.
“Over the past 100 days, ABF officers have processed more than 158,000 arrivals through Perth Airport, and a similar number of passengers departing, averaging around 5,000 total passenger movements each day.
“This includes returning Australians to reunite with family, working holiday makers, international students, people travelling for business and tourists – all helping to boost the local economy.”
Commander Copeman said during this time, the Department of ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Affairs and the ABF also launched the Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD), to help keep travellers and the wider community safe.
“We’ve been working hard over the last two years to maintain the integrity of the Australian border, focusing on ensuring a streamlined and safe travel experience as public health requirements continue to change,” he said.
“With the border well and truly open and inbound passenger numbers increasing daily, this also serves as a timely reminder for travellers to complete their DPD before jumping on your flight to Australia to ensure you speed up processing on arrival.”
Another milestone was reached on 28 March 2022 when Perth Airport’s Terminal 3 (T3) re-opened, and on 23 May T3 welcomed back the Qantas long haul direct flight from London to Perth, after being directed to Darwin during the border closure.
Commander Copeman said the past 100 days were a source of great pride to the ABF due to the way officers had dealt with the multitude of challenges they have faced.
“We have a travelling public who are flying for the first time since the border re-opened and are unfamiliar with the new processes, which we understand can be frustrating after a long flight,” he said.
“We’re committed to providing a professional and welcoming experience for both our inbound and outbound travellers, while ensuring our border protection duties remain as strong and focused as ever.”
ABF TIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
- Passengers should complete their Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD) before departing for Australia. You can start the DPD seven days before departure and if you wish to avoid long queues it is suggested you complete the declaration prior to arriving to the airport.
- ABF recommends you prepare your documents before you head to the airport for your flight. There is a lot of information on the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Affairs website that steps passengers through the process.
- The majority of passengers are completing their DPD correctly ahead of travel and are moving through international border processing quickly. For those passengers who don’t complete or have only partially completed a DPD, they will be referred to an ABF officer for manual checks of required documentation.
