NSW hotspots ruin holiday plans as families face festive heartbreak

FAMILIES facing the sudden heartbreak of spending Christmas away from their loved ones — or worse, completely alone — made the latest hotspot declarations the most emotional yet

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FAMILIES facing the sudden heartbreak of spending Christmas away from their loved ones — or worse, completely alone — made the latest hotspot declarations the most emotional yet.

Hayley Ryan-Leach had been in Illawarra and said she’d never have boarded the plane if she knew this was an option.

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“(In Sydney) I would have been able to do things, I wouldn’t have been stuck in a room for Christmas and New years,” she said.

“Being alone for Christmas at 17 is going to be shit.”

The frustration of the situation had already started to boil over, trying to work out what limited options she had with her dad, Todd Leach, who she kept in contact with over the phone while he waited in the terminal.

“It’s hard not being able to see dad face-to-face, looking at how many phone calls we’ve had is a reminder of how long I’ve been here (in processing),” she said.

The NT declared the Greater Sydney area a hotspot while about 130 passengers were mid air on the way to Darwin. Todd Leach's daughter Hayley, 17 will have to spend at least a night in quarantine . Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

“I have to get a flight myself and it could take a couple of days before that happens.”

Mr Leach said she’d been given the all clear to come to the Territory upon boarding the flight, just a few hours earlier and thought there were better ways to handle the passengers.

“You’d think the government would have made it 4pm, and let these guys go … or they could have put them in, let them all get tested, wait for their results and then let them go,” he said.

“She cleared Sydney at 12.20pm on the proviso that we had a clear state to come back to now they’ve told them at 3pm that NT’s got a lockdown for them.

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“She’s gonna be pissed off, she’s a 17 year old redhead so she’s pretty fiery.”