‘Abandoned’ abroad
Maidenhead residents left stranded in South Africa after travel rule changes
A Government decision to place South Africa on the coronavirus red list has left Maidenhead residents stranded and ‘abandoned’ overseas.
Travellers returning to the UK from several African countries, including South Africa, have been told they must spend 10 days in a Government-approved quarantine hotel to help curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
The rapidly changing situation left some Maidenhead residents frantically trying to book flights home to beat the quarantine deadline.
But with flights either cancelled or full, they faced the prospect of having to pay thousands of pounds for quarantine hotel rooms on their return home.
One Maidenhead couple,
Lauren Hopkins and Austin Noorkoiv, contacted the Advertiser to explain their ordeal trying to book themselves into quarantine hotels.
A lack of availability meant they could not sort a booking before their planned flight home on December 1 with the pair blocked from boarding as a result.
Lauren hit out at the Government for not providing enough hotel space for returning travellers.
She said the lack of quarantine hotel rooms, provided by the Government-approved Corporate Travel Management, had cost the couple more than £8,000 in additional flight, hotel and coronavirus test costs.
The pair finally managed to return home on Monday but were left stranded on a bus for several hours while they waited for hotel space to become available.
Fellow Maidenhead resident Robert Kuhner remains stranded in South Africa and fears he will not make it home for Christmas.
He had travelled there to execute a legal will following the death of his mother but has faced challenges trying to book flights and quarantine hotel space.
The Department for Health and Social Care said it is rapidly expanding its hotel capacity and on Monday doubled the number of rooms available.
A Maidenhead resident stranded in South Africa has called for further support from the Government, believing he will not be home in time for Christmas.
Robert Kuhner, 62, said he was required to visit the country to execute a legal will to 11 beneficiaries following the passing of his mother.
After travelling to the country once it was added to the Government’s green list, Mr Kuhner said he was looking to return home on December 2.
However, on Friday, November 26, Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that South Africa would be added to the red list from 4am on Sunday, November 28, meaning he would have to pay more than £2,500 for isolation in a hotel for 10 days.
Direct flights were immediately cancelled, and with countries across Europe closing their borders to travellers intending to transit, Robert had no way of returning home.
As countries are continually added to the red list, the retiree, who admits he is in a ‘slightly fortuitous position’ in comparison to some who may have to urgently
return to work, says that hotel quarantine spaces are quickly being booked.
With around 80kg of luggage to bring home following his mother’s death, Mr Kuhner says that the cost of a business class ticket direct to the UK and hotel quarantine would cost him ‘about £10,500’.
Speaking to the Advertiser, he said: “The last time I looked you couldn’t get a reservation in a quarantine hotel until December 22.
“If you had a job in the UK and you needed to get back and you had to pay hotel costs in South Africa, you would be forced to bite the bullet and go [back to the UK].
“I’ve kind of taken a decision that the view seems to be there’s a softening on this [variant] from Governments around the world, so I’m hoping that before Christmas they will say ‘come back, you don’t have to hotel quarantine’.”
Having sought a variety of measures – including travelling home via a route with more lenient rules, going through insurance companies and the British consulate in Pretoria – to no avail, Mr Kuhner has called on the Government to support British citizens who may be in a similar situation.
“I just question, when the UK Government says ‘yes it’s a green country you can travel’, where is the support package?” he asks.
“Why should any family have to pay because the Government suddenly puts them into this situation?
“I think, like a lot of people, I’m just taking the view that I can just sit it out in South Africa for a number of weeks, but I’ll get to a time where I’ve got to wonder what I should do.”
The Government is planning to review the travel situation in the week commencing December 13, and said it does not intend to keep measures in place any longer than necessary.
It said that hardship loans would be available for those who genuinely cannot afford to pay for the managed quarantine service up front.
Commercial routes are operating which allow British and Irish citizens to return home if they wish to do so.