Former content director and announcer at Wollongong's i98, Lachlan Kitchen secured his dream job in the United Arab Emirates, co-hosting a breakfast show for Dubai 92. But in July, he was one of 40 employees to be made redundant on the same day.

Mr Kitchen told the Mercury he was "lucky" to have a visa and savings, but feared his September business class ticket (bought with loyalty points) would be rescheduled for a second time.

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As of August 18, flights from Dubai to Sydney were few and far between. Some fares exceeded $20,000, while many flights had been cancelled.

Mr Kitchen claims economy ticket-holders were the first to be "bumped", with business class passengers connecting from the UK even preferred over passengers just wanting to travel from Dubai.

"Three days out [people] are told 'oh sorry it's been cancelled, your next flight's in a month'," he said, fearing he would suffer the same fate.

"There's this idea of 'you've had enough time to come home', [but] people over here aren't on a Contiki tour who are just hanging around."

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Mr Kitchen said it was an "anxious place to be" and was concerned something might happen to his elderly parents back in NSW.

"If they get sick or something happens, it could be ... eight or 10 weeks before I can get home," he said. "The airlines can charge whatever they want. It's absolutely crazy."

Pricing and sale of tickets is at the discretion of the airlines, not the Australian government.

Government-imposed limits on how many people can arrive in Australia on those flights (due to social distancing) have been extended until October 24.

Sydney can only take 350 international arrivals per day, Melbourne none, while Brisbane and Adelaide are capped at 500 in total each week and Perth 525 per week.

Since the pandemic hit Australia, 371,000 Australians and permanent residents have returned home, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with thousands still currently overseas.

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A spokesperson said since the pandemic began, DFAT had assisted approximately 27,000 citizens and permanent residents to return on more than 339 flights, of which 64 were directly facilitated by the Government.

"It's frustrating to think ... you've got to have money for a business class ticket otherwise you're not going to be able to get home," Mr Kitchen said.

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