Relief for Aussie kids like Kobi Miller stranded by border closures from NSW to SA

Teenager Kobi Miller was stuck in NSW and separated from his family in South Australia for 140 days, until a group of volunteer pilots came to the rescue.

A teenager stranded interstate because of border closures has finally been reunited with his family after 140 days thanks to a group of volunteer pilots.

Kobi Miller is one of dozens of children returned home in the past year on compassionate flights run by the charity Angel Flight Australia.

The 13-year-old was staying at his grandfather’s house in Coffs Harbour, NSW, when border closures hit leaving him unable to return to his home in Adelaide.

He arrived in NSW on May 22 for a month but suffered a medical condition which prevented him from flying back until July. By then border closures and restrictions kicked in.

“It was awful for him; he is a very active child who hangs at the footy club with his mates and plays basketball, and hangs with his schoolmates and he couldn’t do any of that. But also we’ve got a 14-year-old and an 11-year-old, the home isn’t complete without the five of us there,” his mother Krystle Miller said.

“I was an emotional mess; even now thinking about it it was really hard.”

Kobi on board an Angel Flight on the way to Cobar, NSW, to meet his mum. Picture: Supplied

It wasn’t until she heard about Angel Flight from a mutual friend that the family got a break.

The charity has a pool of more than 3000 pilots that volunteer their expertise and planes to co-ordinate flights for country people to access medical treatment.

But with Covid’s arrival, the group has extended its reach by offering to help families separated by border restrictions.

Angel Flight organised for Ms Miller to meet up with Kobi and her sister in Cobar, NSW.

One pilot returned her sister back home to Coffs Harbour and another flew Ms Miller and Kobi back home to Adelaide on October 8.

Krystle Miller and pilot Owen Crees leaving Adelaide for Cobar, NSW.

Krystle Miller with Kobi and pilots in Cobar, NSW, halfway through their journey.

“I thought I need to reach out to see if this is possible, and I reached out and Angel Flight were like yes, we can help; I was really taken aback by it. It was my only hope of getting Kobi home.”

Ms Miller said she was overwhelmed by emotion: “I was crying; I didn’t think I could cry anymore and then I sort of pulled myself together,” she said.

Angel Flight Australia CEO Marjorie Pagani said they have made 50 Covid-related transfers across three borders in the past year.

“We’ve had to step up to the plate for Covid,” she said.

“In the last month we have made 20 Covid-related transfers; we are bringing children to reunite with families, we are bringing kids from boarding schools to their rural properties and a lot of people we are transferring from city to city through state borders to see dying relatives.

“Some are international travellers who have come because their parents are very ill. We have had some really quite distressing cases; mums and dads talking to us very distressed about little children not being able to come home.”

The pilots have to submit themselves to all the rigours of interstate crossings and undergo testing each side of a trip, then wait on tarmacs after flying for hours.

“There is not a single occasion where we haven't been able to get pilots,” Ms Pagani said.

Owen Crees is an Angel Flight volunteer who has done hundreds of trips for the charity. Picture: Emma Brasier

Owen Crees has made about 600 flights from the Aldinga Airfield in Adelaide since he started with the charity in 2014.

The “semi-retiree” who flies “for fun” said all the transfers are memorable but the missions he has made during the Covid pandemic have really struck a chord.

“The Covid-related ones that we have been doing lately, they are quite special because you can see how important those family reunions are to people,” Mr Crees said.

“You get cases like Kobi and other passengers that are just trying to reunite a family; I’ve done a couple of flights where I’ve got a passenger that is trying to get to see a family member for end of life circumstances.

“So they are both emotional trips but for very different reasons, and the fact that you can make such a difference to peoples’ lives when you are just out there enjoying yourself is a very special feeling really.”

Originally published as Relief for Aussie kids like Kobi Miller stranded by border closures from NSW to SA