Hicks up in the sky

Of course the government had to fly him back on a private charter.

Would you get on a Qantas flight if you knew he was on board?

I wouldn't.

The government had a choice between hiring a small plane and putting Hicks on board with 4 other people or essentially hiring a very big plane (like a 747) and putting Hicks and 4 others on board because Qantas would have to tell all the other passengers who they would be flying with.

Since most would change flights, the government would have to pay for all the empty seats.