A two-way travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia has finally begun after more than a year of closed borders.

The first passengers of quarantine-free travel from Australia started to arrive at Auckland International Airport shortly after the plane touched down at 12.30pm.

There were joyous scenes as over a hundred people gathered in the airport to welcome their loved ones, cheering as each person entered Aotearoa.

A choir sang an extended version of Dave Dobbyn's Welcome Home/Nau Mai Rā as travellers entered the arrival hall.

Auckland businessman Kevin Mackenzie was the first to emerge in the arrival hall.

"Benefits of carry-on," he said.

Mackenzie had been in Sydney on business and was fortunate enough to be there when the bubble was announced. "I was prepared to do the MIQ but this certainly beats that."

It was "a special" flight he said, with the plane full of families looking forward to reconnecting.

"This is what New Zealand is all about," Ashleigh told the Herald as she greeted her mother Marleen and introduced her grandson Boston to her for the first time.

"I've been waiting for this day for so long."

Oina Luatine and her granddaughter Ashleigh had been waiting patiently for another granddaughter Porchae to arrive from Melbourne.

Tomorrow one of Luatine's daughters is getting married, and Porchae, the only close family member overseas, was lucky to snap up one of the first flights home to make the special day.

"I can't wait to see her, I couldn't sleep last night," Luatine said before Porchae's arrival.

It was "mixed emotions" for the Finau whānau in Auckland today, with Amelia Finau reuniting with her sister Melefale Finganofo. Tomorrow they bury their brother.

"It is lucky she has got to come back, a lot of families have missed out on that opportunity unfortunately," Finau's son Tetai said. "So we are lucky, very happy to see her, but it is mixed emotions."

Seamus Matamua and his fiancé Auilagi Vaifale were waiting patiently, and a little nervously, to see Matamua's parents arriving from Sydney.

It's the first time Vaifale had met them, with the couple marrying in June. "I'm very excited, but a bit nervous," she told the Herald.

Matamua said it had been over two years since he'd seen his parents and he could not wait to be reunited.

"It's going to be quite emotional. I'm really looking forward to them finally meeting Auilagi."

It was also a chance to celebrate his mother's 60th birthday from March, when they'd meant to fly to Australia but had to cancel because of rising Covid-19 cases there.

Joining them were Matamua's sister Rowena Jimmy and her two children Claire, 10, and Gabriel, 7. "We all can't wait to see them, especially these two, can't wait to see their grandparents," Matamua said.

Sydney-based Rowan Heath was excited to finally see her 85-year-old mother Heather in Auckland today.

Heath, a 58-year-old teacher from Manly, will be one of the first Australians to take advantage of the trans-Tasman travel bubble opening when she lands about 4.30pm.

With her two brothers also in Australia, Heath spoke to the Herald about how hard the separation from her beloved mother had been.

"At the beginning, she was very, very teary saying, 'I'm never going to see you again', and we were like, 'No it's okay', but at 85 you just don't know," she said.

"It has been awful, but thank goodness for digital technology because otherwise it would have been absolutely horrendous."

Normally, Heath crossed the ditch about four times a year. Now her whānau would be spacing out their trips to share time with their mother, who is in a rest home.

Heath expressed her gratitude for how New Zealand handled the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I've been really happy knowing that [mum] has been there, knowing that she's safe."