Generous pilot gives refugees a flying visit
AGENEROUS balloon pilot from Bath has given two Ukrainian women the trip of a lifetime after hearing that they were refugees.
Derek Maltby treated Anastasia and Oxana to stunning views of the Royal Crescent, Bath Abbey and Beckford Tower during the one-hour flight at the weekend.
Mr Maltby, who made hot-air ballooning his hobby in 1988, was carrying out an MOT-type test on one of his balloons in Bishop Sutton when Anastasia approached him.
She had been at a meeting of Ukrainian families in the village hall nearby and wanted to know how much a balloon flight would cost.
Derek explained that he did not offer commercial flights but that they typically cost around £150. He and Anastasia got chatting and she explained that she had moved to Chew Magna with her family from war-torn Ukraine.
The 66-year-old balloon pilot said: “It all happened just by chance. She explained that she was a refugee and she was here with her sister, her mum, her cousin Oxana and her two daughters, aged five and three.
“I didn’t have any passengers for the Bath Balloon Fiesta the following day so I asked her and her cousin to join me. We flew from the Royal Crescent at 7.30pm, which hasn’t happened for five or six years.
“We had a beautiful sunny evening. We saw Prior Park College, the University of Bath, Beckford’s Tower, the Circus and the abbey, and the lighting was perfect.
“It was nice to be able to do something for people who have been through so much. It’s nice to say ‘welcome to the West Country’, we’re glad to have you.”
Mr Maltby explained that, when they were living in Dnipro, Anastasia and Oxana were only 60 miles from the front line and could hear shells landing near the city. “It must have been so frightening,” he said.
Derek’s balloon landed at Hemington, near Faulkland, at around 8.30pm.
The Bath man is a security consultant by day and piloted his first balloon in 1988 while working as a police sergeant in the city. He has flown balloons all over the world, made several trips across the English Channel, and will soar over the Midlands next week.