KIDS CALL AS DAD TAKES THE LONG WAY
A GEELONG father stranded in Australia will take five flights and travel four days to reunite with his children in Canada.
Murray White has been living in Australia for two years and has been unable to visit his two daughters for the past six months due to international travel restrictions.
Despite holding dual AustralianCanadian citizenship and an exemption for international travel, Mr White was not sure he would make the flight.
“Travel just feels like a moving target,” he said. “It’s not even taking things one day at a time, it’s about what’s happening in the next hour.”
Mr White initially returned to Australia two years ago, but made regular trips overseas to spend time with his two daughters.
While in Geelong, he cared for his elderly grandparents.
However, uncertainty over international travel and border restrictions in the coming months and years meant it was practical to return to Canada permanently.
“Making the decision (to go back to Canada) was straightforward,” he said.
“I’m choosing it for my kids.”
His flight has been rescheduled “five or six” times since the ticket was booked in March.
“I’ve had to jump through all sorts to hoops to make sure I can travel,” he said.
“But I still don’t know if I’ll get on that plane or land in Canada.”
It comes amid threats from the Canadian Government to ground all flights coming into the country from the United States.
Starting Thursday, he will fly from Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to San Francisco, cross-country to Chicago, land at Montreal before taking a Canadian domestic flight to Ottawa where he must isolate for two weeks.
“I’m dealing with at least six different jurisdictions, all of whom have their own restrictions,” he said.