There was anger among passengers who landed on QF2148 in Canberra from Melbourne, one of the last flights to arrive before the block on movement out of Victoria comes into place.
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One passenger described how a young child travelling unaccompanied was "ambushed" by ACT Health officials and immediately burst into tears.
Another passenger was waiting to return straight to Melbourne without leaving the arrivals lounge because she didn't have anywhere to stay in quarantine in Canberra.
"I was only going to be here for the one day," she said as she sat distraught in the health screening area. She was not being allowed to come from the terminal further into the ACT. She was escorted to the toilet and back to the holding area.
Passengers on the flight were met at the top of the gangway from the plane by ACT Health officials wearing high-visibility tops.
At a series of make-shift tables, the officials politely took details of where the passengers had been in Victoria and where they planned to stay in quarantine in Canberra. Some passengers said this was the first they had heard about quarantine. Why couldn't they have been told before boarding, some asked.
Some were allowed through to the ACT - but they then went to their place of isolation by taxi. Some said they were told by the ACT Health officials that they should sit in the back of the cab.
A few of the passengers were returning as planned but many said they had rushed to return early when the block on travel outside Victoria was imposed on Monday.
A 63-year-old grandmother from Geelong who didn't want her name used said that she had come to babysit her grandchild.
She was not happy with the arrivals process. "That was a joke," she said as she emerged from the reception area. "They were making it up as they went along."
We understand that these changes will be disruptive for many in our community and we apologise to anyone whose travel plans have been disrupted. However, the situation in Victoria has evolved quickly and we must take measures to protect the health and safety of the ACT community.
- ACT Health
"There was a little boy there who was traumatised," she said. Her daughter said that people were taking off their masks as they left the terminal. "I watched people cruise off without their masks," she said.
She said that she had looked at prices for a one-way ticket in the morning and they were $149 but after the border closure announcement, they had shot up to $367.
She accused Qantas of "price gouging".
Qantas said there had been a sale offering tickets during this wider period from $149 but no tickets on Monday's flights were available at that price. The airline had not changed its "fare structure" because of the imminent block on travel.
Qantas also said that it didn't organise the health controls at the airport.
One passenger was allowed through on condition he drove straight back to Victoria. "I've bought a car here so they've given us an exemption," Paul Clark said.
He was heading straight from the terminal in Canberra to pick up the car and then drive it home.
But he was annoyed that he would have had to stay in quarantine for 14 days. "I don't know why they didn't tell us that in Melbourne," he said.
ACT Health said: "We understand that these changes will be disruptive for many in our community and we apologise to anyone whose travel plans have been disrupted. However, the situation in Victoria has evolved quickly and we must take measures to protect the health and safety of the ACT community."
Some passengers were irritated but said they understood why the checks were in place. "It's annoying but I understand they have to do it," Luc Launder said. Audrey Gilmore said she would go home and stay there for 14 days. She said that she had been told that "someone will come and check".
There was clearly a scramble in Melbourne when the authorities announced the border closure on Monday morning.
Business owner Lauren Turner said she had gyms in Canberra and in Melbourne so she was waiting for an employee to come from Victoria.
"She can't work there at the moment because it's closed," Ms Turner said, "so we thought we would get her here".
But it wasn't clear how the employee would be able to operate in a gym and be in quarantine.
It took two hours to clear passengers through the screening at Canberra Airport - apart from the few who were going straight back to Melbourne. Normally, it takes about 20 minutes to get from the plane to the taxi rank.
Qantas is not operating flights with empty seats between passengers. It has what it calls a "Fly Well" program which consists of heightened hygiene measures. "You'll be provided with a Fly Well pack containing a mask and sanitising wipes. While masks are not mandatory from a safety point of view, they are recommended to be worn for everyone's peace-of-mind," the instructions say.