Australian PM's Covid roadmap ‘deceptive’, say stranded Australians no closer to getting home

Australians stuck overseas say they are no closer to getting home despite the federal government announcing international travel would resume at 80% double-dose vaccination targets. They cite soaring flight costs and continued booking cancellations as near-impossible barriers to returning to shore. On Friday, 1 October, prime minister Scott Morrison said Australian states would be able to reopen to international travellers from mid-November after hitting vaccination targets. Seven-day home quarantine would be available for fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents, provided their jab was approved for use or “recognised” by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The same day, Qantas announced it would bring forward the resumption of international flights by a month, to 14 November, beginning with three return flights a week from Sydney to London and Sydney to Los Angeles. LJ Ferrara started the Facebook page Expats Coming Home in 2018, as a public forum for Australians looking to repatriate. Since the pandemic, the group had amassed more than 20,000 followers, and became a platform to share the struggles of being trapped overseas. Ferrara said it was “harder now” to get home than “at any point since the pandemic started”, in part due to harsh travel caps hitting airlines. <br/>