[roadcat]

The astronauts will be riding spare seats on a spacecraft that actually works as advertised.

How many seats are on the SpaceX Dragon capsule currently docked? I know they are capable of having 7 seats, but weren't some removed for the last launch to hold more cargo other than the few astronauts on board?

Technically, SpaceX could send another Dragon crew capsule with 7 seats, after allowing the current crew capsule to depart with a few crew members, and then dock the 7-seat version and load up with the remaining astronauts and safely return all to Earth.

Only after the ISS is depopulated, then the failed Starliner capsule can attempt undocking. If it crashes into the ISS during undocking, at least all humans will have safely left.

[Theophilus]

Boeing Stallliner

[Campion]

Send up an extra 2 seats on a cargo ship. (Assembly instructions included!) Their suits won't work on CrewDragon, though. Either re-enter without suits, or wait for SpaceX to make/find suits that fit.

The ISS isn't built to fly unmanned. They need to figure out how to safely get rid of Starleaker, and they have a month (or so) to do it.