Angel Flights to fly woman from Sydney to Melbourne to see dying dad

A woman told she’d have to pay for a private plane from Sydney to Melbourne to see her dying father has landed at Essendon airport after a generous donation.

A young Sydney woman granted an exemption to farewell her dying father landed in Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon.

Anna Coffey, 32, touched down at Essendon Fields airport just before 4pm on a flight from Bankstown, after arriving in Sydney a week ago after learning her father had suffered a stroke when she was in New York.

Ms Coffey will be allowed to leave her hotel quarantine to visit her 80-year-old father, John, who she was told had just days to live.

But, she must spend each night in her hotel room.

Anna Coffey lands in Melbourne aboard the Angel Flight. Picture: David Caird

A convoy takes Ms Coffey from the airport to her quarantine hotel. Picture: David Caird

Ms Coffey had been given the all-clear by NSW to travel to Victoria and was offered a charity charter flight for the trip.

Ms Coffey, 32, said she completed her final Covid-19 swab on Tuesday afternoon.

She boarded a plane donated by Angel Flights to see her father in a Melbourne hospital.

Anna Coffey with her father, who is in palliative care in Melbourne. Picture: Supplied

Anna Coffey, at the airport in Bankstown before leaving for Melbourne. Picture: Jonathan Ng

One final document and a Covid-safe escort across Melbourne are now all that stand between her and her dying father.

“I’m feeling really tired, but really excited,” she said after arriving in Melbourne.

“Frustratingly enough apparently there was an issue with one of the documents for me to be able to leave the hotel so that’s being sorted now and I should get to see dad first thing (Thursday) morning.”

Ms Coffey had travelled home from New York a week ago after learning her father John, 80, had a stroke and was in palliative care.

“I’m relieved to have made it to Melbourne in time,” she said.

Ms Coffey has been told she must spend each night in her hotel room, but will be able to see her father during the day as per the exemption she was granted on compassionate grounds.

How the Daily Telegraph reported the story.

“I have to wear gloves and a face shield and things, which is going to be weird, but I can see dad at the same time as my family if they also wear PPE.”

On Tuesday it was revealed NSW Health had advised her they had all the documentation required to allow her to leave hotel quarantine in Sydney, which Victoria had verbally agreed to.

“I’m so happy, and shocked,” she said on Tuesday.

“NSW Health called me this afternoon to help me get the last of the documents I needed, I provided everything to everyone and ... tomorrow after 12 I can book a flight.”

Ms Coffey has also welcomed an announcement by Health Minister Greg Hunt that the Australian Health and Principal Protection Committee has been asked to review all the exemption processes for compassionate cases like hers to ensure the bureaucracy does not prevent people from farewelling a loved one.

Anna Coffey hopes to fly from Sydney to Melbourne on Wednesday to see her sick father. Picture: Supplied

“I think that’s amazing, and that’s one of the main outcomes that I had hoped would come from this whole thing,” she said.

Ms Coffey said she hoped to also warn other people overseas to try and avoid being caught in the same situation.

“I didn’t know that if I flew to Sydney I wouldn’t be able to get to Melbourne, I would have done it differently otherwise,” she said.

Mr Hunt said he was hopeful the delays and barriers in the exemption process would be “resolved” and the Commonwealth would work with states wherever possible.

“We will ensure that the AHPPC considers the exemptions process,” he said.

“These compassionate cases are immensely important. They in many ways define

our humanity.”

Ms Coffey rushed home from New York six days ago after learning her father had suffered the serious stroke and was in palliative care in a Melbourne hospital with possibly only days to live.

She booked the first available flight to Sydney, not realising state health authorities would not allow her to drive to Victorian quarantine, and from there apply to see her father a final time.

Ms Coffey was also told she must show she had secured a charter flight to get to Melbourne, which had been quoted to cost at least $7500.

Emails sent to Ms Coffey by NSW Health officials explained they understood her situation was “upsetting and stressful,” but the “challenging” requirements had been put in place for the “protection of the community”.

Angel Flight chief executive Marjorie Pagani said on Tuesday a flight was put on standby at Bankstown, as well as options for later in the week if the health approvals were delayed.

“Angel Flight is about helping people who need help, it’s as simple as that,” she said.

“Doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, if a person has a need, we get in and help them.”

- Additional reporting by Olivia Jenkins