Island Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Hi, I haven't been on the forum for awhile... Is the general experience of people trying to get back to Australia during Covid an absolute impossible nightmare or are people actually getting home? Just wondering if there is any point even trying to book flights for later in the year or do we just need to expect to keep getting bumped off, cancelled & rejected?? We are Australian citizens... Thanks for your advice/ expertise and experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 I think it’s an impossible question to answer right now. One for sure though, if you don’t book then you’ll definitely not be going. Many have made it and many have been messed about. You’ve got to be in it to win it though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 5 hours ago, Island said: Is the general experience of people trying to get back to Australia during Covid an absolute impossible nightmare or are people actually getting home? It's certainly tough, but there's around 20,000 people arriving on planes every month, so somebody must be getting here. Best plan is to register with DFAT so the government has you on the list, in case they organise any more repatriation flights. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 8 hours ago, Island said: Hi, I haven't been on the forum for awhile... Is the general experience of people trying to get back to Australia during Covid an absolute impossible nightmare or are people actually getting home? Just wondering if there is any point even trying to book flights for later in the year or do we just need to expect to keep getting bumped off, cancelled & rejected?? We are Australian citizens... Thanks for your advice/ expertise and experience! To date, Qatar have been the most reliable airline for getting back, so I'd be booking my flight with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 My daughters friend (Australian) has been living in Europe and UK for a couple of years - her boyfriend (also Australian) managed to get back in November, here friend has been bumped off a flight twice. She has a flight booked for April and we're all just keeping her fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 A few of our members have made the move and done (or are currently doing) the 2 weeks quarantine. One family did a great post and keep us updated whilst in quarantine ,you may find it an interesting read. Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmduk Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 I have. We got our economy flight with Qatar airways cancelled in august last year, we then decided to upgrade to business class and flew in 2 weeks later. Our best chance of getting here at the time was to just fork out for business class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtritudr Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 On 30/01/2021 at 07:15, Marisawright said: It's certainly tough, but there's around 20,000 people arriving on planes every month, so somebody must be getting here. Best plan is to register with DFAT so the government has you on the list, in case they organise any more repatriation flights. It's currently around 10000, on par with NZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 Thank you for your replies - for Australian citizens trying to get home - are you just required to book your flight and then hope you don't get bumped off or do you also need to contact Australian Embassy, request permission to return etc?? I'm guessing trying to fly pets back is an absolute nightmare at the moment?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 16 minutes ago, Island said: Thank you for your replies - for Australian citizens trying to get home - are you just required to book your flight and then hope you don't get bumped off or do you also need to contact Australian Embassy, request permission to return etc?? I'm guessing trying to fly pets back is an absolute nightmare at the moment?? You should register with DFAT because then you will be notified when the government organises more repatriation flights. However if you are booking a commercial flight, there's no need to ask permission to return. If you have pets, book them with the pet moving company first before you attempt to book flights for yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 On 12/03/2021 at 21:09, Island said: Thank you for your replies - for Australian citizens trying to get home - are you just required to book your flight and then hope you don't get bumped off or do you also need to contact Australian Embassy, request permission to return etc?? I'm guessing trying to fly pets back is an absolute nightmare at the moment?? You should familiarise yourself with the government's SmartTraveller website, if you haven't done so already. At this point it seems highly unlikely that more repatriation flights will be put on, but you can register and live in hope. A few people have posted they have flown pets over in the last year, and it doesn't seem to have been an issue - apart from the exorbitant costs. We re-housed our old fella with friends in the UK, and he's happy-as being spoilt rotten by them! We still see him on Skype quite often. We'll get ourselves a new dog once we're more settled here. https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/COVID-19 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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