Solomon Islands to reduce mandatory quarantine

An aerial view of ships and boats anchored at the harbour in Honiara.

By James Harrison

The Solomon Islands will soon be reducing mandatory quarantine requirements for inbound visitors.

Authorities will require arrivals to quarantine in Honiara for three days at their own expense and take another RAT before entering the community.

Solomon Airlines announced its support of the decision over the weekend alongside its new schedule effective from 1 August, re-introducing regular international flights between Solomon Islands and Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati, with connections to partner airline services from New Zealand, Asia and the US.

“Reopening our borders is a major milestone that means Solomon Airlines can again open up our flights and network to the world,” Solomon Airlines CEO Brett Gebers said.

Solomon Airlines CEO Brett Gebers

“That means gradual recovery of inbound tourism, more opportunities for international air freight, and that our optimism about the future of air travel in our region has proved well-founded.

“On behalf of the Solomon Airlines team we thank the Solomon Islands Government, the Australia and New Zealand Governments, and our business and industry partners for standing by us, and helping us to keep our nation flying through our most difficult era ever.”

This news comes after earlier this month when the country announced that it would open its border to international travellers at the start of June, but they would have to quarantine for 6 days.

“The past two years and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have been an incredibly long and testing journey, and we say tagio tumas to everyone who has supported us, for your patience and perseverance, especially our hardworking staff who made sacrifices to ensure the survival of Solomon Airlines,” Gebers said.

“Our immediate priority now is to re-establish our core Pacific Islands network and ensure convenient connections from global markets especially NZ, Asia, the United States, and Europe via Brisbane and Fiji.”

“We also look forward to continuing our work with our travel industry partners as well as Tourism Solomons to ensure Solomon Islands is indelibly placed on the world map as an attractive and accessible international destination.”

Until the complete lifting of mandatory quarantine, international visitors to Solomon Islands must continue to follow the updated health protocols while accommodated at one of the approved ‘Tourism Bubble’ operators.

Advertise with us

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Brett Gebers solomon airlines solomon islands Tourism Solomons