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Covid: Australia, 8 special flights landed for 5000 repatriations – Last Hour

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(ANSA) – SYDNEY, OCTOBER 23 – The first special return flight from London of 161 Australians blocked abroad by the Covid-19 pandemic landed today in Darwin, in northern Australia. The charter flight, which took off from Heathrow, is the first of eight entrusted to Qantas, four from London and four from India, for a total of about 5000 passengers. From Darwin, the repatriated Australians are transferred to the nearby quarantine center in Howard Springs where they will spend the required 14 days.

Passengers had to pass a Covid-19 test before the flight and pay a flat rate of A $ 2150 (€ 1300) for an economy seat, while accommodation in Howard Springs costs $ 2500 (€ 1500) per person. and $ 5,000 per family. Many of the passengers, identified as vulnerable by the Australian High Commission in London, have been trying to return home since the lockdown imposed in Britain in March. There are still more than 30,000 Australians stranded overseas who want to return home.

Unlike the hotel quarantine for those arriving from abroad, where ‘guests’ have to forgo the outdoors and physical activity, residents of Howard Springs can roam downtown and even swim in the pool.

At the start of the pandemic in February, the center was used to house Australians evacuated from Wuhan. (HANDLE).

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