Highlights
- International flights to Melbourne likely to resume by end of November
- Premier Andrews confirms resumption of hotel quarantine program and international flights
- Special flights arranged from New Delhi to bring back Australians stuck in India
International flights to Melbourne were stopped due to the second wave of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Now with case numbers under control, Victoria is likely to join other states and resume international flights allowing more Australians stuck abroad to return home.
While the international borders remain closed, the cap on international arrivals on Australian citizens and permanent residents has meant thousands are still in queue to return to Australia.
Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the flights would resume next month after the Board of Inquiry delivers its interim report on the state's hotel quarantine program on November 6.
He confirmed the state would help bring Australians stranded overseas home in time for Christmas with flights to Melbourne likely to resume by the end of November once the state sets up a new model for the hotel quarantine program based on the inquiry report.
"We need to do this properly and we will need to look at what is in that report but as soon as we can safely have that system set up and have those flights returning, we will and I am very confident we will be able to have that well before Christmas," he said.
"I think it is probably toward the end of November rather than the middle, I would think."
"We should be able to hit the agreed target we agreed to at National Cabinet and it is to have flights returning, people reunited with their families for Christmas," Mr Andrews said.
'Resume flights as soon as possible'
However, those desperate to return to Melbourne say the government needs to act fast.
Rohit Jasrai, a resident of Melbourne, had to fly to India in August after his mother passed suddenly.
“I did not come here for a holiday. My mother passed away and my wife and I had to come to India in August. My manager is asking me when I will return,” Mr Jasrai told SBS Hindi.
Stuck in Jalandhar, in the northern state of Punjab, Mr Jasrai has spent the last few weeks travelling to Delhi and spending nights outside the Air India office, waiting in queue to book tickets.
“We spent four nights outside waiting in the queue from 2 am hoping to book tickets. But we didn’t succeed,” he said.
Mr Jasrai who works with a security agency in Melbourne says the Victorian government needs to act now to bring back its citizens rather than wait longer.
Source: Supplied by Rohit Jasrai
“The cases have come under control. We are ready to quarantine for 14 days and follow all the rules.
“There are so many Australians stuck in India. I am afraid he [Daniel Andrews] will change his mind if numbers rise. He needs to resume flights as soon as possible. So many families from Melbourne are stuck here.
“It has been three months for us now. I lost my mother, it is depressing to live in this house which has so many memories of my mother.
“I just want to go back home now. I need to return to my job,” Mr Jasrai said.
Victoria stopped international flights after it was found the second wave of COVID-19 cases were linked to the leaks in the hotel quarantine program, prompting an inquiry.
The final report into Victoria's hotel quarantine inquiry has been delayed and will now be released on December 21.
The interim report, however, will be released next Friday which will contain recommendations for a proposed quarantine program.
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