Indonesia may soon join Singapore in Australia’s second two-way travel bubble, with President Joko Widodo proposing the creation of a ‘vaccinated travel route’ with Australia to improve tourism and economic ties between the two. country.

The arrangement would allow fully vaccinated people arriving from Indonesia and Australia – including tourists, business travelers, students and workers – to visit and return without having to undergo quarantine requirements.

Increased recognition of vaccination certificates from both countries will also help speed up travel, Widodo, known as Jokowi, told Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Rome.

That same summit saw Morrison confirm that visitors from Singapore will be able to come to Australia from Sunday, November 21.

Indonesia eased travel restrictions in early October, reducing quarantine periods to five days from eight, while reopening the tourist hotspot in Bali to visitors from many countries.

However, the Indonesian government – like the one in Singapore – has been pushing for any travel arrangements to go both ways, so that its citizens can visit Australia.

Before the pandemic hit, Australians made up a quarter of all tourists arriving in Bali.

At the time of writing, Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar all plan to resume flights to Bali in March 2022.

Qantas’ schedule shows a resumption of its daily QF43 flight from Sydney to Denpasar on Sunday March 27, with the return of QF45 Melbourne to Denpasar on Monday March 28; both flights will be operated by a Boeing 737.

The low-cost airline Jetstar has planned on April 1 for the return of its popular JQ37 between Sydney and Denpasar, which according to the schedule will be piloted by its Boeing 787.

Sunday March 27 is listed as a three-city kickoff for Virgin Australia, with Boeing 737 flights to Bali departing from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Speaking at a press conference on October 22, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said he hoped an arrangement for quarantine travel between Australia and Bali would be in place before Christmas.

Last week, the Australian Foreign Office lowered its warning for Indonesia from the highest status from “Level 4: Do not travel” to “Level 2: Exercise extreme caution”, under which the travel insurance is generally still available.

However, the DFAT also highlighted the “limited availability of testing and infection control facilities,” adding that “critical care for Australians who become seriously ill, including in Bali, is significantly below the standard available in Australia. .

Bloomberg Supplementary Reports