Location: Papua New Guinea
The Embassy was recently informed that, due to the COVID-19 situation in Victoria, Australia, airlines are not permitted to bring international passengers into Melbourne Airport, and international arrivals to Sydney Airport are capped at 450 passengers per day with a maximum of 50 passengers per flight. These restrictions were implemented beginning on July 3rd and will be in effect for at least 14 days.
While the Embassy in not currently aware of any impact on approved travel into and out of Brisbane, the airport restrictions implemented in Melbourne and Sydney may have flow-on effects for airport operations in other parts of Australia. Due to the fluid nature of the situation, there is no guarantee about the operation and frequency of international flights into Australian airports at this time.
In accordance with our prior update on commercial air travel, the Embassy advises that U.S. citizens with an urgent need to travel between the United States and Papua New Guinea look for options that transit Brisbane and that do not involve domestic travel within Australia. Visa and entry/transit requirements detailed in that update still apply.
U.S. citizens who do not have an urgent need to travel may wish to consider delaying travel until such time as the situation in Australia becomes more certain. All travelers are strongly advised to consult with relevant airline(s) regarding any impact on flights and travel plans.
Actions to Take:
- Consult directly with the airlines and/or a travel agent to determine if your planned travel is still viable.
- If you decide to travel and your itinerary requires a transit time in Australia of more than eight hours and your do not already have and ETA or valid visa, obtain a Subclass 771 transit visa
- If you decide to travel and your itinerary transits Australia and you cannot complete your transfer within an eight hour window, obtain an exemption from the Australian Border Force in advance of your travel based on a confirmed reservation
- If you decide to travel and your itinerary transits New Zealand, obtain a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authorization
- Consult the CDC website for the most up-to-date information
- For the most recent information on what you can do to reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19, please see the CDC’s latest recommendations
- Visit the COVID-19 crisis page on travel.state.gov for the latest information.
- Visit our Embassy webpage on COVID-19 for information on conditions in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu
- Visit the Department of Homeland Security’s websiteon the latest travel restrictions to the United States
Assistance:
U.S. Embassy Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Phone number: +675 308 2100
Email address: ConsularPortMoresby@state.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usembassyportmoresby/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/usembassypom?lang=en
U.S. Consular Agency in Honiara, Solomon Islands
Phone number: + 677 27429 or + 677 74 94731
Email address: us_consular@usconsular.com.sb and keithieusa@usconsular.com.sb
U.S. State Department – Consular Affairs
+1 888 407 4747 or +1 202 501 4444
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