Four Tasmanians trapped in Peru hopeful for extraction after Fed Govt announcement

The hopes of Tasmanian travellers stranded in South America have been raised with news the Federal Government is facilitating charter flights to bring hundreds of Australians home.

THE hopes of Tasmanian travellers stranded in South America have been raised, with news the Federal Government is facilitating charter flights to bring hundreds of Australians home.

But others overseas fear they will remain stuck there indefinitely, as nationwide lockdowns due to the coronavirus crisis restrict movement to airports.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said the Government was working with Australian travel company Chimu Adventures to bring Australians home from Peru and Uruguay in coming days.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne appears before a Senate Estimates hearing at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

The company will manage charter operations from Cusco and Lima in Peru and Montevideo in Uruguay, and the Government will provide indemnity and underwrite unforeseen costs.

The flight from Lima is fully subscribed and is expected to carry more than 260 Australians and depart within days, subject to approval from Peruvian authorities.

Further facilitated flights are already being planned for other Australians in South America, due to challenges with transport out of the region.

Hobart couple John and Carol Kirkwood are in Cusco and said the latest news was promising, but said their safe passage home was not yet guaranteed.

“We’ve had so many let-downs so far and this is probably our best and most likely prospect,’’ Mr Kirkwood said.

“We’ve been booked on things and they’ve been cancelled. But the way we’ve seen the reports on news in Australia, it sounds like a done deal.”

John and Carol Kirkwood are in Peru and hopeful of returning to Australia through a charter flight on Sunday.

Mr Kirkwood it was hoped they would be flown from Cusco to Lima and then travel to Australia on Sunday.

The Kirkwoods flew to Chile in February and travelled around South America, arriving in Peru on March 4.

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The country has since gone into lockdown, meaning the couple have been mostly confined to the Airbnb they are staying in.

They are allowed out once a day to buy food or visit a pharmacy.

“Peru is doing a good job of this. The way they’ve locked this all down is what everyone else needs to do,’’ Mr Kirkwood said.

Meanwhile, another Tasmanian couple also in Peru say they could remain stuck in the country unless the Federal Government can offer assistance to get them out.

Hobart's Matthew and Angela Smith are stuck in Peru in the middle of a national lockdown brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.

Matthew and Angela Smith remain in a hotel room in the city of Arequipa, which is about 15 hours’ drive to Lima by road.

They had repeatedly checked Smart Traveller advice before deciding to travel from Tasmania on March 6. Now, their adventure has turned into a nightmare.

Travelling the countryside, they were caught out when Peru quickly moved to shut its borders in response to the COVID-19 threat, and they could not get a flight to leave the country in time.

The strict lockdown imposed by the country means they cannot make it to Lima without some help from the Government.

“We need some guidance and support from the Government to get from Arequipa to Lima,’’ Mrs Smith said.

“Supposedly there are other charter flights they are working on, but they need to consider methods by which we can get to wherever that plane is going to land and take off from.

“We’re very sceptical until we have confirmation of an internal flight or a bus, then we’ll start believing that it’s a possibility.”

Mrs Smith said the number of travellers in the hotel were dwindling as many countries such as Canada, Sweden and Germany moved to repatriate their citizens.

“We feel trapped and we feel abandoned that we’ve just been left to our own devices,’’ she said.

“Our concern is we become the last two people in the hotel and they will not stay open for us.”

Andrew Wilkie at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

Federal independent MP for Clark, Andrew Wilkie earlier this week wrote to Ms Payne, urging the Government to step up its efforts to bring them home.

Mr Wilkie’s office said it was aware of at least six Tasmanians trapped in Peru and a further two in neighbouring South American country Bolivia.

Franklin Labor MP Julie Collins said she was “deeply concerned” about the number of Tasmanians stranded overseas.

Ms Collins urged the Government to provide direct support to those affected, including assisted departures where commercial options were not viable.