Charter flights will bring back 1,500 Britons from New Zealand

FIVE flights have been organised to repatriate more than 1,500 Britons stranded in New Zealand, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has announced.

The chartered flights, which begin at the end of this week, will prioritise those most at risk from coronavirus, such as those with existing health conditions, pregnant women, and the elderly.

Three flights will depart from Auck- land and another two from Christchurch.

Lord Goldsmith, the minister responsible for New Zealand, said the Government had “promised we would do everything we could to help get Britons home”. “Getting a commercial flight from New Zealand is now extremely difficult, so we are now going to bring back vulnerable British travellers on charter flights and will continue to support those who remain in the country,” he said. The FCO said the first plane is expected to depart on Friday, with flights continuing to run every second day, alternating departures from Auckland and Christchurch.

Services are being part-funded by the Government’s £75million scheme to organise flights from countries where commercial services have been halted due to the pandemic. However, tickets from New Zealand will cost £800 per person. Travellers able to prove financial hardship may be able to get an emergency loan from public funds.

The announcement comes as a British couple Bethany Beckett, from Bournemouth, and Steve Dodd, her partner, who is a tetraplegic, said they were stranded in New Zealand and were running low on medical supplies. They said they had contacted the embassy but had not received any help and added that they were staying with Mr Dodd’s brother in a house that was not easily accessible for someone with a disability.

“We need a guaranteed flight home – I can’t risk us getting stuck somewhere,” he told stuff, a New Zealand website. Mr Dodd added he felt like he was “in limbo” and it was hard to know what to do as disability access was an issue.