Did you hear that Australia is closed? Arrivals at the major airports are capped, with Sydney accepting a maximum of 350 passengers per day, Perth 525 per week, Brisbane and Adelaide 500 per week, and zero in Melbourne as they are in lockdown. Airlines have had to stop selling flights to Australia.
Carriers are even being told how many people they can bring in, with some flights limited to just 30 passengers. Obviously, Australian citizens are stranded abroad because of this. On the flip side, the Government does not permit people to leave Australia without permission, which must be applied for. You’d be forgiven for thinking Australia had turned into an authoritarian regime.
Qatar Stops Selling Flights To Australia
Back in February, I booked flights to Australia for November to see my family and in May, I changed the flights thanks to the generous Qatar Airways change policy. In the months since, circumstances changed and I had to move the dates to the end of the year.
When I rang them, there were no flights available to Sydney on Qatar Airways. Instead, I could route via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, which would have been fine, but there were no business class seats available. I let the agent know I’d like to stay with a oneworld airline if possible and he agreed to check.
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- Flying LATAM means I get to try these beauties one more time. But will they even flying to Australia in November?
That meant the Thai Airways option via Bangkok was out. After some time on hold, the very helpful agent came back with a solution. In the end, I am routing via Auckland and on to Sydney with LATAM.
I have flown via Auckland before with Qatar Airways, so it is no problem. Even so, I know there is a Sydney flight operating, yet I can’t be booked onto it and so it makes for a more circuitous route for me.
Overall Thoughts
At present, the arrivals cap into Australia is supposed to be reviewed at the end of October. Recent news reports suggest the Government is under pressure to lift the caps earlier and there are articles saying hotels want the business increased stays will provide, plus others about all the stranded people who wish to get home.
With various airlines no longer selling flights to Australia, this will place added pressure on the Government to do something about this. It is a terrible thing when citizens can’t get back to their own country, due to rules imposed by that country. Isn’t citizenship supposed to give you certain rights? It’s a disgusting set of circumstances all round.
While I understand the country is trying to keep pandemic deaths down, the measures are far too restrictive. Australians know they live in a nanny state, watching their every move, but I believe things have gone too far. For now though, I’ll watch and wait and see what the next move is.
What do you think about airlines no longer selling flights to Australia? Has the arrivals cap or departure restrictions impacted you? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Ummmm. I am an American who lives on a PR Visa here is Melbourne and you need to clarify in your post the the caps are in place but more importantly people can not just fly here as to leave you need special permission but even to fly here you need permission and a travel/tourist visa doesn’t count. Plus you currently have to quarantine regardless of which state you fly into at your own expense and there is also a state level permit you need to arrive! Secondly government has extended the ban on exiting and entrance from and into… Read more »
I am aware of the internal borders being closed, the extension of the Government travel ban, mandatory quarantine and the fact that foreign Passport holders are restricted from entering Australia. However, Australian citizens are permitted to arrive without restriction. It is just the cap that is preventing more from arriving. As I am an Australian citizen, I am permitted to travel, and as I am “ordinarily resident outside of Australia”, I am have an exemption whereby I can leave without needing permission. I’m also happy to do the two weeks in quarantine. All that prevents me is the cap on… Read more »
Shame that there are thousands of Aussies stranded around the world and your bragging about being able to “fly in for a visit to Oz” and fly out again just because you hold an Australian passport and are not a normal resident currently of Australia so you will leave. Mate there is something called the letter of the law vs the spirit of the law; you should consider donating those miles to allow for families to come home who are homeless and stranded waiting for flights that have been canceled. That would be the ethical and moral thing to do!… Read more »
I think bragging is a bit of a stretch, I’m just pointing out the facts as they pertain to me. There is a reason I need to travel this year, which you don’t need to be advised of. I also don’t understand your point that I should “consider donating those miles” – I have a cash ticket that I paid for, so miles doesn’t come into the equation here. Glad to hear you’ve done something to help others get home, that is very good of you. Let’s hope your example inspires others to do the same!
“Australian citizens are permitted to arrive without restriction. ”
at 17 Nov this is still not true for WA. You have to apply for a G2G pass and the state police will decide whether or not to let you in depending which category you consider yourself to be.
Sure, but the thrust of this article is about international arrivals. I am aware that there are still interstate restrictions in place, as you have pointed out, but that wasn’t the point of the article.
Flying to Australia, I moved my flight from December this year to March 2021 I’m a UK passport holder and flying Qatar .. what would happen if Australia still has closed borders to international travel and Qatar still fly? Would they refund me ?
From their web site, you can change the dates, you can elect to hold on to your ticket and use it in future, swap it for a travel voucher and receive an extra 10% on the base fare, or you can take the value as miles in Qatar’s frequent flyer programme. I’m not certain of the rule around whether you can get a refund because you don’t hold the right Passport. You’re best asking them by giving them a call. Let me know what happens.
I think its fair to bar arrivals for now as they have given adequate notice of such shut downs. This whole situation is not easy to plan for, and whatever decisions are taken, there will always be someone who finds the decision capricious at best.
I don’t believe it’s correct to prevent your own citizens from returning, end of story. I can completely understand banning foreign Passport holders unless they have a good reason, but Australian Passport holders, definitely not. I daresay there is also potential to quarantine more than 350 people per day. Either way, not much one can do but wait.