Tonga reopens borders after 2-year Covid-19 closure, and returning islanders cry tears of joy

Tonga shut its borders in 2020, leaving more than 3,000 Tongans stranded overseas; quarantine-free entry has resumed, and the first flight landed on Monday

Flower garlands and music greeted the arrivals from New Zealand, as families were reunited; tourists also took advantage of the Pacific nation’s reopening

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Arrivals at Tonga’s international airport were greeted with garlands, music and tears, as families reunited when borders were reopened after a two year closure. Photo: Linny Folau/Matangi Tonga /AFP

Published: 1:45pm, 2 Aug 2022

Families embraced and cried tears of joy as they reunited at Tonga’s airport – the inaugural arrivals to the Pacific nation after it lifted Covid-19 restrictions for the first time since the pandemic struck.

After Tonga shut its borders in March 2020, the government tightly controlled a select list of people who were approved to fly into the kingdom – leaving more than 3,000 Tongans stuck overseas.

But with restrictions lifted, Monday’s first batch of tourists and returning Tongans – greeted with colourful garlands and serenaded by a band at the Fua’amotu International Airport – will not have to undergo quarantine.

The first plane to land was an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland carrying around 200 passengers.

An international visitor (left) is welcomed with a kahoa (garland) by Tonga Ministry of Tourism staff. Photo: Linny Folau/Matangi Tonga/AFP

“It’s good to be back,” said ’Etu Palu, eager to see family again with his mother, Finau Palu, who said it was “good to visit the motherland!”