Quarantine-Free travel to Solomon Islands begins tomorrow
As of tomorrow, 1st July 2022, visitors to Solomon Islands will no longer be required to undergo institutional or home quarantine.
The country’s international borders will reopen fully from tomorrow onwards, with the first fully booked international commercial flight from Brisbane scheduled to arrive in the country tomorrow afternoon.
Solomon Airlines airbus. File Photo/SolAir
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare announced that based on an assessment carried out by the health team, Covid-19 situation had improved remarkably in the past several weeks.
However, Mr Sogavare said he said travelers are required to; first, provide one negative covid-19 PCR test within 72 hours of arrival in Honiara.
And second, visitors must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 except for children that cannot be vaccinated.
“Any traveer that does not comply with these two requirements will not be able to travel to Solomon Islands,” Mr Sogavare said.
The Prime Minister adds, visitors can proceed directly from the airport after clearing their normal arrival formalities to their booked accommodations or hotels or to their homes.
“If they go directly to their homes, we encourage them to use facemasks in their first few days after return,” Sogavare said.
Also from 1st July 2022, all international travelers to Solomon Islands will no longer need to apply for special exemption to enter the country.
“All travelers can book directly with airlines to enter the country and sort out their accommodations,” he said.
SIBC News understands that a first commercial flight from Brisbane has been scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon at the Honiara International Airport.
Both economy and business class of this Solomon Airlines’s Brisbane- Honiara flight have been fully booked with international visitors and returning locals, we were informed.
Tourism Solomons is preparing a welcome ceremony for the arrival of the first international commercial flight tomorrow. Follow our Facebook page – SIBC News – for the live coverage of the arrival of this first international commercial flight into the country at around 2pm tomorrow.
In early August 2021, the national government announced the closure of the country’s international borders to all incoming passengers. Prior to that, the government had imposed international flight restrictions and State of Public Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Jared Koli