The first international flights in months have this morning landed in Victoria as the state resumes its troubled hotel quarantine program.
Flight UL604 from Colombo, Sri Lanka, touched down at 4.20am today with passengers transported by bus to begin their two-week quarantine at the Intercontinental Hotel in Melbourne’s CBD.
Acting Police Minister Danny Pearson yesterday said six hotels were ready to house arrivals following an extensive review into the quarantine scheme.
“We’ve gone through these hotels room by room, floor by floor, to make sure that they are safe,” he said.
The launch includes several major changes to the quarantine system including improvements to ventilation, increased testing and tighter security checks.
Other flights from Sri Lanka, Singapore, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are also scheduled to arrive, with 106 passengers expected today.
The state’s revived program will accept 800 returned travellers per week before ramping up to 1120 arrivals on April 15.
This content first appear on 9news