Omicron fears cloud international family reunions as Qantas bookings drop

Over this time almost every single member of her family in India contracted COVID-19, the disease even proved fatal.

Now, she has plans to catch a flight in early 2022 and finally make physical contact with her loved ones. However, the Canberra resident was concerned Australia might close its borders and she could be stuck in India "indefinitely".

"The situation back home was really bad then and I could not travel to India to be there with them during this trying time," Ms Attre said.

"Sitting thousands of miles away, I could only helplessly watch the situation unfold when I wanted to be there to support them.

"Almost everyone in my family was infected with COVID-19, the situation took a turn for worse and I lost a dear family member to it. It has been a huge loss for us. We have faced the worst of situations during these uncertain times."

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As of November 1 fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents were able to travel overseas after borders were closed for almost two years.

However, Omicron concerns and a spike of cases overseas has many people cancelling travel plans.

In a recent group market update, Qantas outlined that bookings were "extremely strong" in December, but there had been a "significant drop in booking momentum for international flights due to news of the Omicron variant and the additional quarantine restrictions imposed".

Despite this, the airline reported "current loads have held and booking activity has started to pick up".

In the meantime, Canberra Airport has reported current passenger numbers are at approximately 35 per cent of pre-COVID-19 bookings.

Ms Attre doesn't plan to cancel her trip anytime soon but harbours concerns about the new COVID-19 variant.

"I am hoping the Omicron strain doesn't affect my travel plans now. Even if I get to travel to India, there is always a possibility that border closures may delay my plans to return to Australia," Ms Attre said.

"I will be very happy to see my family after a long time. I am looking forward to spending time with them and make up for the time that has been lost due to travel ban.

"I am looking forward to creating beautiful memories with them and looking forward to meeting family members I haven't seen in a long time. I am grateful to have them in my life and don't take that for granted."

Rokia El-Hendawy hadn't seen her family in almost two years. While she is currently overseas with her loved ones, she was so scared her plans would change she kept her arrival a surprise.

Mrs El-Hendawy didn't tell her family she was coming, "so they wouldn't get really upset or disappointed" if the situation changed.

"I'm going to go there and then call them. I didn't even tell them that I'm coming... it's a surprise," she said.

"It is a surprise, because especially with this new variant now, I was a bit worried that something would happen. So just in case they just say 'we are going to close the borders' it is the best idea just to not let them know until I am there.

"Every day there's something in the news and I don't want to have to stay in Saudi Arabia if I can't come back. I was a bit hesitant to go to see my family because it's really scary."

The past two years have been difficult for Mrs El-Hendawy, the almost 13,000-kilometre distance from Canberra to her family has been especially tough on her young son.

"He needs to see his grandma, his granddad, to see his aunties and uncles, to see the other family members and to be raised with his cousins," she said.

"This was the hardest part, especially as my boy is very social, he loves making friends.

"He was always complaining he wants someone to talk to and someone to play with. He wants someone like a family."

Luckily, her son will join her although he doesn't understand the immense distance and 24 hours of transit time.

Uncertainty around the new Omnicron COVID-19 variant has clouded the prospect of a long awaited family reunion.

"It was a bit hard because during these [past] two years, nothing was certain, nothing was stable," Mrs El-Hendawy said.

"I was expecting for the next few years not going to see them, but I was lucky they just opened the borders.

"It was a bit hard because it feels like you are isolated in a different continent. It is a really hard feeling."

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the Omicron variant had "a clear impact on people's confidence to book international trips in particular, but we haven't seen large numbers of cancellations".

"Domestic demand has started to pick up again and we're expecting a strong performance over the Christmas period and continued strength into early next year as more restrictions ease."

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