Stuck in the UK indefinitely

[Bumperdog]

I live in Australia and received a travel exemption to come and visit a family member who is ill. I was due to travel back to Oz on Thursday but have been told that my booking for the flight from Singapore to Sydney has been cancelled. The reason given was the cap imposed by the Australian government on the number of passengers allowed in. There are no flights available until next year, apparently. The flight I had a reservation on is still going but I have been bumped.

I have a job and family in Australia and I really need to go home. I also have a medical appointment at a cancer centre in an Australian hospital in late September to investigate some dubious blood test results.

What are my rights? Didn't we have a legal contract?

Didn't we have a legal contract?

Who are you talking about here?

The airline and I when I purchased a return ticket.

Well, the airline can’t circumvent gvernment policy. They literally can’t get you home due to a combo of the federal government messing up the vaccine rollout and the various states closing their borders. You have no “legal rights” in this respect.

Look up “Australians stranded in the UK” on Facebook - there’s a useful group who can give you the best course of action to get home.

This is going to fill up with people saying 'you knew the risks'.

So I wanted to get in early and say I'm sorry this has happened to you and that I hope the person you flew over to see recovers and isn't terminal.

Hope you find a solution and get home soon. (Sorry I have no advice).

Thank you, Porridgeislife, I will do that.

Flights can be cancelled for many reasons. Especially during a pandemic and Especially if the government impose restrictions. This one has been cancelled due to the Australian government restrictions.

If the governement have an alloted amount of passengers they will let in, the airline can't fly you there.

If they did fly you anyway, what would you do when you land?

This sounds really tough ...sorry no advice but I do hope you get this sorted....and your relative is ok

@Bumperdog No worries. Also, put your name down with DFAT as a stranded Aussie as they are apparently releasing repatriation flights this week & usually they depart quite quickly after booking.

Thank you Muststopeating, I am braced for that but I wonder how many people could listen to someone they love crying and begging them to come and see them one last time and say no? The family member is elderly and is not likely to recover from their illness.

You need a booking link from DFAT to book a repat flight so register yourself ASAP.

Hi OP.

I believe there are around 50k Australian stuck somewhere due to the limits imposed by the government. Yes you have a contract with the airline but that unfortunately doesn’t superseded any federal legislation.
I’m sorry. I hope you find a way back.

Oh poor you. That’s bloody awful.

I have registered with DFAT, when I do return I plan to go home, kiss my husband and little dog and resume my life and work in Australia.

I’m sorry this sounds a stressful situation to put it mildly and I’m so sorry about your relative.

I would try speaking to your embassy and explain the situation.

Try to contact the airline. You say the flight is still going but you've been bumped. The airline has probably bumped you as you're a single ticket and it's harder to bump multiples. Explain your need to get home and emphasise the medical aspect and hopefully they'll bump someone else and reinstate your booking. I know it sounds selfish but I wonder if the airline applied any criteria to the bumping or just knocked off random bookings.
Be prepared to make noise about it back home too.

I wondered why I was chosen to be bumped. I have spoken to the airline and they want to see evidence of the medical appointment so I will try and get hold of that ASAP and submit it. They have said they can't guarantee anything which I understand, of course.

Thank you all so much for your sympathy and understanding, by the way, I suffer from anxiety and it has gone sky high, I thought I had a stomach ulcer as I had relentless stomach pain for 2 days but I think it was my brain putting pressure on my body. I know I am fortunate in that I have somewhere to stay and I am not in a dangerous situation.

@Bumperdog

I wondered why I was chosen to be bumped. I have spoken to the airline and they want to see evidence of the medical appointment so I will try and get hold of that ASAP and submit it. They have said they can't guarantee anything which I understand, of course.

From what my Australian friends are saying (also stuck outside of Australia) you are likely to end up bumped if you have an economy ticket. They tried for months to get back. I hope you manage to get back home soon.

I honestly can't even begin to understand how stressful this is for you. I would never have thought a country would close its borders to its own citizens.

Get in touch with the AUS embassy in UK and ask them to advise and help.

I'm sorry, I have no practical advice apart from maybe try the embassy?
It's absolutely disgraceful that they are not allowing their own citizens back into the country.

Could you contact the Australian embassy in the UK and ask them?

That’s dreadful. I’m so sorry. Hopefully someone will be along with practical advice.

uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/home.html