The Board of Airline Representatives of Australia (BARA), which speaks for major airlines such as Qantas, Qatar, Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines, says there are 30,000 Australians stuck in the UK alone — suggesting the number worldwide is much higher than previously thought.

While 20 airlines are still flying to Australia, strict caps on international arrivals — which the Federal Government wants to raise by 2000 a week — means they can only carry a handful of passengers per plane, leading to a massive backlog that could spill into next year.

“International airlines have told the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia that there are likely some 30,000 Australians in the United Kingdom seeking to return home,” the board said.

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“Under the current tight international passenger arrival caps into Australia, it will likely take well into 2021 to return all these Australians, noting that some increase in the caps might be forthcoming.”

The board’s executive director Barry Abrams said many desperate Australians in the UK have resorted to “camping out” at Heathrow Airport as they struggled to secure flights, while others faced depleted savings, separation from parents and loved ones, job loss and not having anywhere to stay.

Many Australians with economy tickets have complained about airlines bumping them from confirmed seats in favour of higher-paying passengers.

Mr Abrams said the problem was the enormous cost of flying to Australia and when airlines could only sell as few as 25 seats per incoming flight.

“Operating international flights is expensive — fuel and crew alone cost $8000 to $10,000 an hour,” Mr Abrams said.

“International flights into Australia also pay some $5000 to $8000 per flight in fixed air navigation and firefighting services fees to the Australian Government-owned Airservices Australia.

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“International airlines can’t be expected to operate as charity services. The problems in airfares stem from government decisions that mean aircraft land into Australia largely empty. “It’s easy to criticise international airlines over airfares while ignoring the fact they are expected to pay commercial operating expenses for flights into Australia but can only accept a few passengers to cover these expenses.”

He said some international airlines had stopped selling tickets to Australians to return home “until either late October or until December, including for flights out of the UK, because of the international passenger arrival caps”.

“It is difficult to see how these Australians will be returned home before the end of 2020 under the current caps, which often limit passenger numbers to 30 or less per flight,” he said.

The Federal Government wants NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia to each raise their hotel quarantine intake by 500 a week from next Friday, but a suspension of international flights into Tasmania or Victoria will continue.

It followed a warning last week from major operator Qatar Airways that it couldn’t continue flying into Australia if the tight caps continued.

But stranded Australian influencer Brooke Saward, who is stuck in South Africa, said she didn’t think the cap rise would do much good.

“It’s a bit of a cop out,” she said.

“Two thousand extra people is maybe 20 extra passengers on each flight ... but there will still be price gouging, meaning the vulnerable still can’t get home.”

BARA’s figure on the 30,000 Australians stuck in the UK means the number of those stranded around the world is higher than previously reported. The Federal Government has said there were 30,000 Australians registered in embassies worldwide who wanted to come home, according to Nine newspapers.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TO AUSSIES OVERSEAS?

Tens of thousands of Australian travellers and expats remain stranded all over the world due to the dramatic decline in air operations and tough border restrictions due to COVID-19.

Australia currently restricts airlines to carrying between 25 and 60 passengers per incoming flight. This has intensified demand and seen prices skyrocket to as much as $10,000 a seat.

Airlines have been forced to prioritise higher paying passengers with business and first class tickets in order to stay profitable on the long and expensive journeys to Australia.

Stranded travellers have complained about getting bumped from flights multiple times, sometimes within hours of departure, and accused some airlines of price gouging.

Qatar Airways responded to complaints of bumped passengers last month, telling news.com.au the “continuous change in restrictions announced in Australia from time to time” created a “cascading effect” that left some people having tickets rebooked.

“In order to ensure the continued viability of our operations to Australia (the) commercial value of tickets sold must also be taken into consideration to be able to operate each flight,” the airline said.

As well as the massive cost of tickets, incoming passengers also have to cough up for 14 days of quarantine at an approved hotel.

In Sydney, which takes in the lion’s share of Australia’s international arrivals, the 14-day stay costs upwards of $3000.

But there is a loophole for some returning travellers — they may be able to avoid paying for mandatory quarantine, depending on when they booked their travel.

In NSW, travellers can seek to have their hotel fees waived if they booked their international flight before July 12, or their flight from Victoria before August 5. However, they still have to quarantine.