Tens of thousands of families will be separated this Christmas, as desperate Aussies remain trapped overseas because of the strict flight caps due to coronavirus.
Despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying he wanted most of them home by Christmas, a total of 38,000 are now registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as wanting to come back.
But the true figure could be much higher.
Only 7000 people are allowed to fly into the country each week to best manage the number going into mandatory $3000 hotel quarantine.
This has made getting a seat on a plane tough and expensive.
Alice Chabalova, 16, centre, left Melbourne to visit family in Pennsylvania, US with her mother, Elena, on March 5, before the pandemic was declared. (Supplied)