Britons left behind in travel chaos
DOZENS of Britons remained stranded in the city of Wuhan last night after travel chaos meant they missed an evacuation flight back to the UK.
Some said they were told about the plane just a few hours before it was due to take off, and many decided not to board after authorities could not confirm if partners and children with dual nationality would be able to travel too.
The Chinese government agreed only at the last minute that some would be eligible, leaving it too late for many to make it to the airport. Adam Bridgeman, 33, who has lived in Wuhan for six years, was scheduled to board the Wamos Air flight which repatriated 83 Britons yesterday. But the city is in the midst of a complete travel ban, and a car sent by the Foreign Office arrived late, meaning the computer game designer, his wife Su, 32, and four-week-old baby Austin missed the flight.
Downing Street said up to 200 people would be on the evacuation flight, but it landed at RAF Brize
Norton in Oxfordshire with only 83 Britons and 27 foreign nationals on board. Cabinet minister Michael Gove has said another plane will be sent to Wuhan if necessary.
Mr Bridgeman, originally from Chatham, Kent, is now in self-isolation with his family. They are hoping to board a flight to France on Sunday, where they will be quarantined. He added: ‘We are OK in the apartment and can get food delivered. It’s like a long lazy weekend... if it wasn’t for the looming doom.’
University lecturer Michael Pattison, who has lived in Wuhan for 15 years, also criticised the repatriation efforts. ‘I received the travel documents only seven minutes before the deadline to get to the muster point [at the airport] with virtually no transport in the city,’ he told Sky News.
Chris Hill, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, is also stranded. He blamed confusing messages from the Foreign Office which was unable to confirm whether his four-yearold daughter Renee, who is a Chinese national, would be allowed to board as ‘this was in the hands of the Chinese authorities’.