studentflyer96

Hi All,

Couple of friends moving to MEL at start of August - they are doctors and are moving there as critical workers (they have documentation from the hospital to verify this).

They are booked LHR-DOH-MEL with Qatar but on a BA ticket. QR seem to have removed them from the flights (due to Australia entry restrictions).

Has anyone had any experience with this, have they been able to be 're-instated' on the flight? Any other war stories / advice from similar episodes?

Thanks

nancypants

Australia is severely limiting access to the country- something like 3000 people a week are allowed to arrive at present. The numbers were further reduced recently. Airlines bump off those with the cheapest tickets to leave around 30 per plane to travel. QR have been quite notorious for this

see this thread:
Australia’s response to Covid-19 [general border control thread]

caps are likely to remain at current low levels for most if not all of 2021. There are around 20000 Australian citizens waiting to return, many more critical workers on visas. Probably the best place to start is the various Facebook groups around trying to get flights to Australia. There are also DFAT organised flights which may or may not be accessible to your friends- contact the Australian embassy to discuss


edit to add:
documentation from the hospital alone is not sufficient to override the closed border, although I expect at this stage that’s not why they’ve been removed from the flight. Have to apply for an exemption to enter https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/travel-restrictions

mikeyfly

Were they flying economy? There were previously instances where only the higher paying pax in business were kept on due to low numbers allowed in?

Helpful thread here on cancellations and options BA Covid-19 Flight cancellations, rebooking, and refunds | Help and advice thread

wb1969

The number of daily/weekly arrivals in to Australia has just been reduced again and unlikely to return to previous (still very low) threshold until 2022. The chances of anyone getting in to Australia before next year, regardless of the reason, are nil if flying economy and virtually nil if flying in business.

13901

A former colleague of mine and her husband are Aussies. When our employer made us redundant, last March, they decided to cash in and move back to Adelaide.
They haven't been able to secure a spot since. They were told that it's slightly easier from the US but of course flying out of there is next to impossible given the limits there... He's an ICU nurse and has a job lined up there, much like the OP's friends, but it seems that Australia isn't interested.

ratechaser

It does sound pretty outrageous that critical medical workers are excluded because of the price of the ticket they paid. I mean, everyone in J or F could have been just as critical, but you do wonder...

The irony is that those that have the skills that Australia wants right now are probably those less able to sit at the pointy end...

Cap'n Benj

Up to Australia to ensure they’re allowed in then really, it’s not decisions the airlines should be making...

flipper118

They seem quite happy letting Katie Hopkins in. Well they did, now it seems they don’t 🥸

ISTFlyer

Also it's highly normal that QR would prioritize removing passengers on partner awards ( BA Avios redemption in this case ) rather than removing customers that have paid for their flights. Even among those who have paid for their flights, they prioritize those who have paid an higher fare bucket.

Agent69

And about 2000 people associated with the Australian open tennis earlier in the year.

If I was an Ausie I'd be spitting feathers.

FlightDetective

Aussie's just don't care. They're happy they're "safe from the virus". There is zero appetite to allow people in and there hasn't been since the pandemic started. The Government and the Murdoch media propaganda machine over there has ensured the groupthink down under.

I was lucky enough to get back to Sydney to see my family in December/January. Very lucky!

Agent69

The ones who are stuck abroad do (which is the ones I was referring to).

Mwenenzi

The AU state governments have reduced the weekly intake from 6075 to 3185.
During the pandemic QR has continued to fly and bought many people to AU. They however also cancelled tickets for many people. Overbooking (vs quarantined slots allocated) by QR is very common. A TA on AFF posted he expected QR to cancel 500 tickets, even before the 14 July reduction. How quarantine slots are allocated and reduced by the airlines is not transparent. QR seems to do on ticket price.
SQ have been far more reliable on seats vs cancellation (overbooking). A report (Guardian AU) on this current reduction is SQ will cancel on date booked. "last in - first out". So if booked recently unlikely to fly, no matter what class/ticket price.

Booking LHR-DOH-MEL on QR (BA codeshare? avios?) via BA always put more risk on the trip. Far better to book direct with the operator.
They could try to get help from the employer to put pressure on the state government [& airline]. But the chances of getting a positive result are very low
I would be looking for another airline. (SQ EK and others) But getting the money back from BA(QR) may be an issue.

ADL & BNE can be a better choice than SYD & MEL. Many people still think SYD=Australia when it comes to international travel. Victoria(MEL) has always been trigger happy in closing the international arrivals. The state premiers of VIC & WA have both advocated closing the border entirely, including to AU citizens. NSW have taken the opposite view. It is the state governments who determine how many can arrive. Not the AU federal government. And the airlines decide which individuals arrive, when it should be the governments(plural) NZ has a far better quarantine allocation system.

What the media refer to as "Australians" trying to get to AU is really

• AU citizens
• eligible direct family members of AU citizens
• permanent residents
• eligible direct family members of PR's

Many to most are not AU citizens. And then there tennis players and hangers on (~1200 in Jan 2021), French rugby team (in AU now), TV & movie celebrities* (most of which I have never heard of) and numerous others for apparently good reasons,
[note * one is being deported

Main FT thread--> Australia’s response to Covid-19 [general border control thread]

Guvner067

This is simply untrue. We are not "safe from the virus" at all. Those of us in Melbourne are in our 5th full lockdown in 18 months (amongst the harshest rules in the world I might add) and the transmission rates, whilst at one stage were near zero, have recently skyrocketed.
NSW and QLD have recently gone in to lockdown as well as the Delta strain makes its way across the country. Your assertion that we dumb Aussies only believe what we read in the mainstream media is ignorant at best.
Please leave your prejudices at the door.

FlightDetective

I'm hardly prejudiced as I am Australian myself and as my entire family lives there I am very well aware situation in Australia.

The fact remains that some Australians certainly only believe what they hear in the mainstream media. Certainly not all though, as you correctly point out.