Six-hour flight delay lands passengers in 14-day quarantine

Passengers on a packed flight from Perth were due to land in Brisbane in time to isolate at home but a six-hour delay forced them into 14 days of hotel quarantine.

Passengers on a packed flight from Perth due to land in Brisbane in time to isolate at home were horrified when they stepped off the plane to learn a six-hour delay had forced them into 14 days of hotel quarantine.

It comes as Queensland records two new cases of COVID in the past 24 hours - both acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine. There are currently 17 active cases across the state.

The Queensland Government announced updated border requirements while Flight VA469 was in the air on Friday night.

Queensland police said a senior officer had personal contact with Virgin Australia at Brisbane, prior to departure, to relay a message to passengers regarding pending changes to Queensland’s border.

It’s understood a Virgin boss learnt of the changes via Twitter about 10.30pm.

Brisbane passenger Adrian, who asked for his last name not be published, said those on the flight were kept in the dark until they landed at 1.30am and were shuffled off to the Pullman Brisbane Airport.

“It’s just appalling,” Adrian said.

“The decision was made while we were flying and we had no opportunity to change travel plans.”

Adrian at The Pullman Skygate, Brisbane Airport. Photo: Steve Pohlner

Virgin has confirmed the flight was delayed due to engineering matters and it was only directed to a full copy of Border Restrictions Direction No24 after it came into effect on April 24.

A letter Adrian received from Metro North Health’s Medical Services executive director Elizabeth Rushbrook said the cost of hotel quarantine would be waived for passengers from Flight VA469.

“As you were not able to be made reasonably aware of the entry restrictions and requirements for hotel quarantine to inform your travel to Queensland before departure, a class exemption was approved for Flight VA469 arriving on the early morning of 24 April 2021,” Ms Rushbrook said in the letter.

“This meant you were permitted to enter Queensland regardless of whether or not you met the requirements of paragraph 6 of the Border restrictions Direction (No. 24).”

Adrian said the class exemption should have allowed Queenslanders on Flight VA469 to isolate at home and await a negative test, as would have been the case if they arrived before midnight.

He spent just three days in Perth on a work trip.

Perth went into a three-day snap lockdown on Friday that was sparked by a Victorian man unwittingly contracting the virus while quarantining at the Mercure Hotel in the Perth CBD.

Confirmation of the case came after the man had flown home to Melbourne and he had spent five days out in the Perth community, during which time he infected a friend with whom he went to a restaurant, where another man contracted the virus.

But Adrian said his biggest concern was the risk of transmission from returned international travellers who were quarantined at the Pullman.

“My COVID-19 exposure being in this hotel is significantly higher than it was in Perth,” he said.

Adrian can’t even crack a window for fresh inside the hotel designed for short stays.

He said his flight was almost full and estimated 150 passengers were sprung with the requirement to quarantine in a hotel.

Virgin could not confirm passenger numbers.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said it put the safety of Queenslanders first.

“Upon WA’s lockdown announcement, Queensland Health decided to put measures in place shortly after to contain any potential spread from people travelling from Perth or Peel regions,” the spokeswoman said.

“This swift and cautious approach has helped ensured the safety of Queenslanders throughout the pandemic and limit community transmission.

“The Queensland Government has worked closely with quarantine hotels throughout the course of the pandemic to ensure the health and safety of the people quarantining in them and hotel staff, and we have strong infection control measures in place.”

“Our quarantine policies have evolved as more contagious variants emerged and have continued to be successful in keeping COVID-19 out of the community and protecting Queenslanders.”

A Virgin Australia spokeswoman said they understood that changing border restrictions could cause significant disruption to guests.

“Virgin Australia continues to offer unlimited booking flexibility until 31 January 2022 and guests who wish to cancel or make changes to their booking are encouraged to do so on our website,” she said.

“Options include the ability to rebook on alternative Virgin Australia services or obtain a travel credit for use at a later stage.”