Flying to Australia is a challenge at the moment, thanks to limitations imposed by the Australian Government on international arrivals. Qatar Airways even quantified how many people it was permitted on each flight. Happily I have my ducks in a row and I should manage to fly.
It has been an interesting journey since I originally booked my airline tickets back in February. There have been changes in origin, destination, connecting points and more, thanks to schedule changes and cancellations.
With My Ducks In A Row, Here’s The Plan
Things will kick off in locked down Ireland, with an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to London Heathrow. After a few hours in the Galleries First Class lounge, I will head off on British Airways to Stockholm Arlanda.
That evening, I will be a guest of the Radisson Blu Airport Terminal Hotel at the airport. Next morning, I have an early flight on Qatar Airways from Stockholm to Doha. After a few hours at the Al Mourjan Lounge in Doha, I will be on board a flight to Adelaide.
- Not sure I’ll see much of Adelaide from a hotel room!
For the next 14 days I will be in mandatory hotel quarantine, unable to leave my hotel room. It’s not ideal, but it is part and parcel of arriving into Australia right now. Once released, I have a night in the brand new Crowne Plaza Adelaide before flying the next morning to Sydney on Qantas.
I will spend just shy of three weeks in Sydney before flying back to Dublin via Doha on Qatar Airways. Everything is now planned, all that remains to be seen is whether I’ll make it on board.
Why Wouldn’t You Make It?
Anything can change between now and flight time. There have been many documented reports of people being bumped from the Australia flights due to the arrivals restrictions I mentioned before, for example.
For this reason, I booked flexible rates with the hotels so I can cancel without penalty. The airlines will also allow me to swap for vouchers, so financially I am relatively protected if it all goes pear shaped. What with rising Coronavirus cases throughout Europe, it remains to be seen if I will get away.
Overall Thoughts
With my ducks in a row, it is entirely possible things will work and I will fly as scheduled. I’ve used my airline booking reference so many times that I know it off the top of my head at this point.
I am pleased that my 21 hour layover in Doha, which would have meant three days of travel, was changed by Qatar Airways to a better set of flights without prompting from me. The trip is as efficient as it can be, so fingers crossed I get away. Otherwise those ducks in a row will be at risk of being hunted!
Are you planning any travel before the end of the year? How are you finding the whole flight and booking situation? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via Aviation24.be.
Adelaide by Normangerman via Wikimedia Commons.
Two weeks of quarantine for three weeks of visiting? Props to you for being determined. How difficult do you anticipate the return to be?
In my case, leaving will be completely fine. As I am usually resident elsewhere, I am exempt from having to apply for permission to leave. From a flight perspective, there is also no issue here, as the caps are inbound and not outbound.
Spent a lot of time in Australia. Was there for 3 weeks in March.
It’s next to Canada at the bottom of the list of places I would quarantine for two weeks to visit.
Pacific Islands, Africa, South America or to get to the USA? Sure thing.
But Australia? Pfffft, no thanks
Howard in Portugal
I don’t think I’d want to quarantine anywhere for two weeks. Locked in a hotel room is locked in a hotel room, no matter which city you’re located in. Definitely isn’t my idea of fun, anyway! Thanks for the comment.
The point of quarantine isn’t to attract tourists. The only folks being let into Australia are citizens/permanent residents at the moment. And once you pass quarantine, you’re in a completely different world. No need to wear masks or worry about restrictions or lock downs. The mandatory quarantine is one of the reasons why Australia has little to no cases of COVID.
Exactly!
When are you thinking of going, Trent, and will the new English lockdown affect your plans? Everything is a bit of a nightmare at the moment…
Later this month. It could well be that the plans in England change things. Hopefully flights will still run and people can still transit. Otherwise I’ll need to cancel (again!) and connect through another European city. Time will tell!
Well, good luck Trent – hope you get back to Oz!
Thanks very much!
I am not sure why you are travelling, or the purpose of your visit. But I assume that you know, if you are an Australian citizen (or P.R.), then you can only leave the country once issued with an official international travel permit. So while you may be able to get in, are you sure that you can get out afterwards?
Yes, this is correct. However, citizens who are ordinarily resident elsewhere are permitted to leave without requiring permission. There is an exemption in place for those people. They use your immigration records at departure to determine that and that’s the category I fall into, so for me, leaving will be fine. Thanks for the comment!
My partner has been stuck in Chile for five months because he couldn’t get (or a for the exorbitant price of) a seat on a plane back into Australia. And there are many other Australians in the same situation, desperately trying to get home. And you use one of those seats for a holiday.
I am very sorry to hear that your partner has been stuck for so long abroad. I know that a lot of people are in a similar situation, to the point where the Australian Government is running a few repatriation flights for those particularly vulnerable. Your assumption that I am going for a “holiday” is incorrect. Thanks for your comment and all the best of luck to your partner in getting home. It’s a horrible situation all round.