Passengers on-board Melbourne flight given just 10 minutes notice of hot spot declaration
A PLANELOAD of people on-board a Melbourne to Darwin flight have been sent to the Howard Springs quarantine facility today, after they arrived minutes after the NT government declared the greater Melbourne area and its airport as hot spots.
Northern Territory
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A PLANELOAD of people on-board a Melbourne to Darwin flight have been sent to the Howard Springs quarantine facility today, after they arrived just minutes after the NT government declared the greater Melbourne area and its airport as hot spots.
Forty-four people on-board Qantas flight QF838 were ushered onto two waiting buses bound for Howard Springs after their flight arrived at Darwin International Airport about 10.55am.
All passengers have been given the option to either complete two weeks’ quarantine at the facility or return to Melbourne on a later flight, with the next latest due to depart at 5.15pm.
Passenger and Darwin resident Barend, who did not want to provide his surname, said he was returning home after a trip to the Melbourne CBD.
“When I was there, it wasn’t a hot spot at all,” he said.
“(We were told) just ten minutes before we landed, and after we landed, then they let us know that they’ve changed everything, and that we had to go into quarantine.
“(I’m feeling) a bit disappointed, but at least we don’t have to pay for quarantine, so that’s a good thing. So it doesn’t affect a lot of people’s finances.”
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Fellow passenger Dan Davison, a regional Victoria resident who flew in with his wife and two young children, said his family would be heading back home later today.
“I totally understand – at the end of the day, we have to protect everyone … We don’t want to be bringing anything into the NT that we don’t want,” he said.
“(We were here for) just a holiday. We come back every year, we love the place. But – not this time.”
One passenger said she was travelling to Broome via Darwin to visit her baby granddaughter for the first time, as well as her son and daughter-in-law.
She said she would be completing two weeks’ quarantine before continuing on as planned to Broome.
“(I’m feeling) sad. Ten minutes! Ten minutes, that’s it,” she said.
“We were actually planning to stay in the Northern Territory for two weeks so we could fly to Broome to visit our granddaughter for the first time ever. We haven't seen her. She’s six months old now.
“So we’ll do the two weeks here, still. And we’ll still fly over to Broome.”
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Another passenger said she was a Darwin resident who had travelled to Melbourne only yesterday to undergo an operation.
“I’m a bit sad,” she said.
“I have an 87-year-old mother at home who’s just going to be on her own.”
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