Man's plane selfie infuriates stranded Aussies

A Sydney man’s selfie on board an empty international flight has caused anger as thousands of Australians remain stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic.

About 40,000 Australians are unlikely to return home in time for Christmas.

Albion Haxhnikaj, who is currently in hotel quarantine in Sydney, is among those fortunate enough to be home in time for the holidays.

He posted photos on Facebook showing the almost completely empty Qatar Airways flight he took to Australia from Kosovo.

Mr Haxhnikaj told 7News the empty seats made him angry.

“I asked myself, why is it so hard to come back home?” he said.

Mr Haxhnikaj was stuck in Turkey for three months without his family, saying “it was hard” and a difficult time for him.

Other stranded Aussies have also shared their frustration as they struggle to find a flight home amid growing anger at the Australian federal government for not increasing the number of Australians allowed to enter the country.

Many taking to social media to show empty planes occasionally flying in.

A woman flying from LA to Sydney last month tweeted there were just 26 people on her flight.

“Needless to say, unfortunately no one will be getting Xmas presents this year,” she tweeted.

Why are so many Australians stranded overseas?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in November “Australia is moving everything we possibly can to get as many Australians home”.

"But there are obviously understandable constraints to that because of the quarantine capacity,” he said.

States have caps on how many international arrivals they can accept each week. Victoria can take 1120 and only recently resumed its hotel quarantine program.

There are also concerns over the costs of tickets with some flights reportedly costing thousands and airlines try to make the journey cost-effective.

The woman returning to Sydney from LA claims her flight cost more than A$10,000.

‘This is a disgrace’: Aussies feel abandoned

Dave Jeffries, who remains stranded in Canada with his wife and son, told a Senate Select Committee in November he’s facing spending $50,000 to return home.

“We feel abandoned and betrayed by the current policies of the Australian government … (and) we’re growing increasingly angry at its unwillingness to implement safe alternatives that would allow us to return home,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese told reporters in October the government is taking too long to act.

"This is a disgrace and that should be the priority," Mr Albanese said.

A woman named Carly told the Senate Committee that she organised a campaign from the UK to help 350 families return with their babies.

She found an airline prepared to do the flights, but was forced to walk away from the plan after communications outlining the proposal weren't responded to by officials.

"It's just heartbreaking," she said.

"I feel that I've done everything in my power humanly possible to try and get involved and make a change, and nothing happened."

Carly - who did not want to release her surname after receiving abuse over social media - said she had only heard back from Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong.

with AAP

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