Elated families have reunited across Queensland's airports as COVID-19 restrictions ease in the state, but others waiting to drive across the border are still locked out and say they are at the "end of their tether".
People from interstate COVID-19 hotspots can now enter Queensland if they are double vaccinated, can provide a negative COVID result in the past 72 hours, apply for a border pass and home quarantine at an address no further than two hours from the airport they landed at.
Gold Coast resident Jacky Dennie was waiting at Brisbane Airport for her husband of 14 years.
He has been living in an Airbnb in Sydney for five months after getting caught up in local lockdowns.
Ms Dennie said it was the longest the couple had been apart.
"I am happy to have him home and it's my birthday tomorrow … so this is the best present I've ever asked for," she said.
Her husband Steve Dennie said he was glad to be home.
"But it's taken so long and the reasons why is not fair — it's not fair to keep families apart," he said.
"We're all meant to be Queenslanders, all Australian, but we're not.
The airport today was witness to an outpouring of love and emotion but also to frustration.
Bijay Thapa arrived in Brisbane from a flight from Sydney today.
It has been four months since he has seen his wife, as Mr Thapa had to go back to Nepal when his mother passed away from COVID-19 earlier this year.
They too were reunited this morning.
Gemma Scott bought a house on Queensland's Sunshine Coast in August.
Today, she returned from Melbourne via Sydney with her family.
The family had to catch an approved taxi to their new home on the Sunshine Coast.
'End of their tether'
While the reopening was great news for people flying into Queensland, others were not feeling so lucky.
For John and Heather Piper, the change made little difference.
The couple has been stuck at the New South Wales border since the beginning of August waiting to drive home — just two hours away from where they have been camping.
Mr Piper told ABC News Breakfast this morning the couple was nearing the "end of their tether".
"We're paying bills in both states," he said.
"If it wasn't for some social media sites — mental health is a real issue."
Mr Piper said the couple had tried contacting Queensland Health and asked for exemptions.
