Family in for a longer stay
THE worst fears of Far North tourism industry leaders for people trapped by border closures has been realised for a family on holiday in the region.
On Tuesday a family from Western Australia who travelled to Cairns to spend Christmas with loved ones found they would be in FNQ longer than planned after the West Australian border slammed shut and their New Year's Day fight home cancelled.
Russell Thomson and his wife, Julie, recently arrived in Cairns from their home near Bunbury in southwest WA, with grandchildren Celleste, 9, and Tyrone, 7.
Mr Thomson said they were concerned with their accommodation ending on January 1. They need to find somewhere affordable for the following five weeks.
“We are here with our grandchildren to spend Christmas with family and friends just outside Cairns,” Mr Thomson said.
“We were planning to fly home to WA on January 1, but Virgin bumped us off until February 5 and our grandchildren will both miss one week of school.
“Our accommodation runs out on January 1st, and it’s hard to find something affordable for five weeks; some places want to charge up to $10,000.”
While he and his wife search for somewhere to stay in the new year, Mr Thomson said they had been doing some extra Christmas shopping in Cairns.
“We will have to bring home any additional presents on the plane so we will have to keep this in mind, assuming we can get back,” he said.
“While we were here and filling out our paperwork to get back to Perth, our flights were cancelled.
“I am not upset with Virgin Airlines, this is not their fault, they are a business and they are following the rules and unlike Jetstar with whom we had a battle to get here after they cancelled flights willynilly, Virgin offered us a refund straight up,” he said.
“It’s the WA Premier’s fault for locking the borders down.”
However, Mr Thomson said if you were going to be stranded somewhere, Cairns was a great place to be.
“We have been here plenty of times, we love Cairns,” he said.
“I have told my boss I’ll be working remotely for five weeks, so this time yes, it’s been interesting.”
The WA government said from Saturday, February 5, 2022, the state will embark on its Safe Transition and ease interstate and international borders and details about travelling into WA will be updated when this comes into effect.