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Faced with a large backlog of Australians trying to get home, Qatar Airways has stopped accepting new bookings in Australia. The country only accepts 4,000 international arrivals a week. That includes its own citizens. Because of this, airlines estimate that it will take months to clear the backlog of Australians trying to return home. Air New Zealand has refused to accept new bookings to Australia for some time. Now Qatar Airways follows the same path.
It’s a challenge to fly to Australia
A report in The Weekend Australian quoted Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker discussing the current difficulties of flying to Australia. The airline has gained a following by continuing to maintain services in various Australian cities throughout 2020. But Al Bakar says its Australian flights are now a challenge to operate.
In early July, the Australian government imposed limits on the number of inbound international passengers that could reach Australian airports. Adelaide and Brisbane have been accepting 500 passengers per week. Sydney Airport accepts 350 passengers a day.
The Australian government is also telling airlines how many passengers can fit on each flight, sometimes as little as 30 passengers.
The Board of Airline Representatives of Australia (BARA) is a lobby group for international airlines flying into Australia. They say that around 100,000 Australians are trying to get home. At the current permitted repatriation rate, it will take about six months to eliminate the delay.
Angry passengers stranded around the world
It comes amid stories of passengers being kicked off flights more than a dozen times. Airlines are reportedly sorting passengers based on needs. The same airlines need to maximize revenue from very small passenger manifests. They have been requiring passengers who can fly to buy business class tickets. These tickets cost more than ten thousand dollars per passenger.
It’s a real disaster and one that has left passengers stranded and outraged at the top. Airlines are bearing much of the brunt. To clear the backlog of affected passengers, Air New Zealand had already stopped accepting new bookings on its flights to Australia.
Qatar Airways has now made the same decision.
“Many disappointed passengers are unable to travel according to their travel plans,” Al Baker was reported to have said on The Weekend Australian.
“Given the restrictions, we cannot accommodate these passengers on an alternate flight the next day, where we face the exact same problem, the problem continues to grow daily.”
Are there special repatriation flights on the horizon?
In the meantime, there are some reports that the Australian government will start organizing special repatriation flights. Local media suggests that all repatriated travelers will enter a 14-day quarantine at a government facility in northwestern Australia, likely a disused detention facility.
While these reports persist, senior government officials have said the plan is news to them.
The current situation is causing widespread malaise. An easy way to alleviate this is to allow airlines like Qatar to bring more passengers to Australia. But until current restrictions are relaxed, Qatar Airways will work to clear its backlog of crashed passengers, from 30 to 50 passengers per flight.
