We are still more than a week away before the halving of international arrival caps in Australia comes into effect, as announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday.
But the cost of the new measure aimed at containing the exposure to the Delta virus variant, until a bigger share of the population is vaccinated, is already being felt amidst the cohort of Australians stranded overseas.
Ticket prices as high as $38,000 made headlines on Saturday for London – Sydney flights scheduled over the course of the coming fortnight.
Asked to comment on the practice, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt issued a ‘strong clear message’ as he termed it, warning airlines against taking ‘commercial advantage’ of travelers seeking to make their way home.
‘These are difficult and challenging times. We do have support programs for Australian overseas in extremis but I hope that there is nobody who seeks a commercial advantage from difficult circumstances and that’s a strong clear message,” Mr Hunt said.
The warning against profiteering from Australians trying to repatriate comes after many are desperate to get in the country before inbound passenger caps are reduced from 6,370 to 3,035 a week.
Implemented from 14 July, the move is a win for the Victorian, Queensland and West Australian governments, who were pushing for the reduction in the days leading to Friday’s National Cabinet following a week of widespread lockdowns across the country.
The measure is part of the first stage announced by the PM on Friday, of Australia’s four-phase COVID-19 vaccine target plan.
