Love is in the air, and it's just touched down on the Gold Coast.
It has been almost two years since international flights have been able to land at the Gold Coast airport without COVID quarantine restrictions.
The first flight from Scoot Airways arrived from Singapore just before 7am.
Waiting at the arrivals terminal, John Gormley said he was "pretty nervous" to see his partner Lili Tan after almost two years apart.
Mr Gormley, who lives in Thailand, came to Australia for a month-long trip to see his elderly parents in 2020, but was forced to stay when the international border closed.
"I haven't seen her for 23 months," he said.
But with love in the air on Valentine's Day, the pair plan to head out for a second first date.
"We're just going to find somewhere nice for breakfast that's as far as we're going so far," he said.
The pair took to video calling twice a day every day for the past two years.
After a teary reunion, Ms Tan said it had been a tough lead-up.
"I couldn't wait, it was impossible to sleep, impossible to do anything," she said.
Gold Coast-based Ejlal Almaktoum has been living and working in Singapore for the past two years.
She said it had been difficult to be away from her loved ones.
"It's been a long time," she said.
"My family and friends are all here.
Travel confidence growing
The last international pre-COVID flight arrived at the Gold Coast Airport on March 24, 2020, and it has been 696 days since the city welcomed the last quarantine-free flight from Asia.
Queensland Airports CEO Chris Mills said the Scoot flight marked the start of a re-emerging airport network.
"In a couples of weeks' time we'll see flights from New Zealand, and we're focused on places like Japan and South Korea," he said.
Mr Mills said travel confidence was going to be the key driver for returns to the Gold Coast.
"Internationally, each country has its own rules and requirements around testing, forms [and] processes, and people understandably will take time to work their way through it," he said.
Asia key market
Pre-COVID, about 124,000 people travelled between the Gold Coast and Singapore each year.
Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O'Callaghan said the local economy had suffered a million-visitor blow since Australia closed its international borders.
"We know the international market is absolutely lucrative for the Gold Coast," she said.
Ms O'Callaghan said Changi Airport was displaying images of the Gold Coast at the international airport in a bid to attract more tourists.
