Rush to come home as

There’s fear and frustration for those attempting to return from Australia after a week’s deadline given for quarantine-free travel. Benn Bathgate reports.

IT took Mark Fisher one rushed Covid-19 test and two hours to secure an Air New Zealand flight back from Australia, while for Marie Chin the wait goes on.

The two are among the New Zealanders over the ditch caught up in the sudden closure of the trans-Tasman travel bubble, as quarantine-free travel ends in the face of Australia’s worsening Covid outbreak.

Fisher, who travelled to Victoria to visit family, admits he was surprised when he was eventually able to get through to Air New Zealand.

‘‘It took a long time, two hours to get through.

‘‘But to my surprise they said I could fly Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.’’

Fisher said he opted for the Monday flight in order to keep his pre-departure all-clear Covid test valid, though he was aware of fellow Kiwis in Australia who have had flights rescheduled seven times.

Chin, who arrived on the central coast of New South Wales on May 19 to finally meet two new grandchildren, has had two planned return flights cancelled.

‘‘I was initially booked to return on June 26 which was cancelled. I was booked again for July 10 which was also cancelled less than 24 hours prior to departure,’’ she said.

‘‘This was particularly devastating.’’

She said that while no Covid cases had been reported on the central coast, its classification as Greater Sydney meant she has been living under Covid restrictions.

‘‘The system in place for this bothers me. I am sure there are others like myself who have been here a very long time, but that doesn’t seem to count.

‘‘It seems that someone who may have been here for a relatively short time can get a flight, probably because they’re a bit better than me on the computer.’’

Chin said the system took no account of their length of time stranded, age, or number of

previous cancelled flights.

‘‘I’m nearly 65 and my spouse in New Zealand is nearly 68, we’re both struggling with this now, and the thought of possibly another eight weeks is certainly

overwhelming me. It becomes more and more difficult to stay on top of your mood and how you feel day by day.

‘‘I hope a better system comes into play.’’

Fisher, who originally intended to be back in New Zealand on July 17, was relieved to have a flight booking, but won’t really relax until he’s in the air.

For Steve and Julie Unkovich, who are planning to return from Sydney in October, the problem centres on the ‘‘primitive, slow, unintuitive, totally userunfriendly’’ process of booking a managed isolation place.

‘‘Why not be able to selfquarantine at home for say, seven days, providing the property is suitable, then get retested?’’ said Steve.

‘‘This would free up those elusive managed quarantine spots for others, therefore helping more people return. Surely this has got to be a better option than cramming people into what could be called a Government-funded virus transfer facility?’’

After a $312 bill and ‘‘a right rigmarole of running around getting private Covid tests done’’ Lorraine Hirst landed back in New Zealand on Friday night.

The journey began at Brisbane Airport ‘‘with 300 other people’’.

‘‘We were told to keep [Covid test documents] handy as we would be asked for them, probably several times,’’ Hirst said.

‘‘But no one asked, and they did not check them. We basically waltzed into Auckland Airport and through the e-gates and apart from my temperature being taken, and not my husband’s, that was it. What’s the point of having Covid tests if no-one checks?’’

Yesterday the Ministry of Health urged anyone who’d landed from Australia to get tested if they had symptoms, and to check the state websites for locations of interest as new ones continue to be identified.