Covid-19 Cairns: Authorities confirm who was on board mystery African charter flight
Authorities have confirmed who was on board the “mystery” African charter flight which arrived in Cairns - and who gave approval for it to land. Two passengers subsequently tested positive for Covid in hotel quarantine.
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LATEST: The “mystery” African charter flight which landed in Cairns contained 13 Australian and three New Zealand residents returning home from FIFO mine work and was approved by Queensland Health to land in the Far North, authorities have confirmed.
The workers are understood to have originally departed Johannesburg in South Africa before taking connecting flight VHPFL from Kuala Lumpur to Cairns, landing at 4.30am on Sunday.
Two of the 16 have subsequently tested positive to Covid-19 and flown to Brisbane due to fears it is the highly contagious Delta strain.
The remaining 14 are believed to be in hotel quarantine in Cairns.
All are understood to be permanent Australian residents.
It was also confirmed the flight was originally meant to land in Western Australia but this was revoked after the state reduced its passenger arrival caps.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said earlier on Thursday the decision over where to land was made between a private ground handling agent and Qld Health.
It is understood Queensland authorities raised concerns, primarily linked to hotel quarantine capacity, but these were resolved prior to landing and the flight had verbal approval by Qld Health to land in Cairns.
A number of other arrival ports were considered before the handling agent applied to the Far North.
An Australian Border Force spokesman said all private charter flights carrying Australian citizens, permanent residents or family members requesting to arrive in the country “must satisfy border entry requirements” but do not require individual exemptions.
“Australia’s travel restrictions and travel exemption policy settings support our efforts to return as many Australians as possible by ensuring any travel into Australia by a foreign national aligns with a very limited range of exemption criteria,” he said.
Speaking at the launch of a new vaccination hub at Smithfield, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Covid-19 vaccination program executive director Dr Don Mackie praised the city’s hotel quarantine process but acknowledged the flight was “unexpected”.
“It (the flight) was unexpected here, which comes back to the federal government in terms of the organisation and administration of that,” he said.
“We have an effective hotel quarantine system and we normally have tight control over incoming flights and understanding of what’s coming and when so we can manage it.”
UPDATE: The Federal government has directed concerns over why a private jet carrying FIFO workers from an African mine - two of whom have now tested positive to Covid-19 - was allowed to land in Cairns to Queensland authorities but still cannot say why the Far North was the chosen destination.
Fifteen passengers were aboard the Gulfstream which arrived at Cairns Airport on Sunday morning via a stopover in Kuala Lumpur and have entered hotel quarantine.
Two have since been flown to Brisbane after it was believed they contracted the highly contagious Delta strain.
Multiple sources within the State Government have claimed concerns were raised over its arrival here, and that it was denied entry into other states.
But Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch has fired back, saying an application had been made through a private ground handler on July 16 - two days prior to the arrival - which was cited by various agencies including the Queensland Police Service, Queensland Health and the Australian Border Force.
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He said all passengers were either Australian or New Zealand citizens who have permanent residency in Australia and there was no suggestion any of them were infected with Covid prior to, or at the time of their arrival.
“I’m not concerned,” he said.
“I would be concerned if (Covid) got out into the community.
“They (State Government) should be applauding the fact the decisions were made which followed all the correct protocols.”
Mr Entsch said the Federal government could not, constitutionally, demand a state government to allow a flight to land and if there was any suggestion of that “then table the evidence”.
However, neither he, nor a spokesman for the Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews could confirm where in Africa the workers had been or why Cairns was chosen.
The spokesman said Border Force’s role was to clear passengers on arrival, not to direct where flights land.
“This is an example of state-run quarantine doing what it is supposed to do – identifying and stopping Covid from getting into the community, while allowing Australians to return home,” he said.
EARLIER: A second passenger on a private plane which arrived in Cairns on Sunday has tested positive to Covid-19 in quarantine as questions begin to arise over why it was allowed to land here.
The charter flight is understood to have been transporting people from a mine site somewhere in Africa, arriving in the Far North about 4.30am on Sunday.
But the Cairns Post understands the Gulfstream had been refused entry to two other interstate airports due to health concerns and it was a Federal Government decision to allow it to land in Cairns, against the wishes of Queensland Health.
While there is no suggestion of risk to the Far North community, Qld Health confirmed the second case on Wednesday with both cases feared to be the highly contagious Delta strain.
A Qld Health spokeswoman confirmed there were a total of 15 passengers who arrived on the flight and were placed in hotel quarantine, with two subsequently testing positive.
These two have since been transferred to Brisbane due to how contagious the Delta variant is.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews was unable to respond questions about the mystery flight by deadline last night, including confirming who the people on the plane were.
It is understood most passengers were Australian citizens, although it is unclear whether any of them are Far North residents.
The Federal Government is also yet to confirm why Cairns was chosen as the plane’s destination given its huge geographic distance from Africa.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said he was not even aware of the flight’s arrival when questioned about it on Wednesday and was speaking with the Minister’s office.
He said the office was in the process of tracking the flight, which appeared to have had a stopover in Kuala Lumpur prior to arriving in Cairns.
“Even the Minister’s office confirmed it was highly unusual and want to get to the bottom of it themselves,” he said.
“Whether it was an emergency or some other reason (is uncertain).”
State government sources said there were particular concerns given Cairns’ proximity to multiple vulnerable Indigenous communities.
“Questions need to be asked about some of these decisions.”
Originally published as Covid-19 Cairns: Authorities confirm who was on board mystery African charter flight
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