Max Quick happy to be back on Australian soil

Cheers erupted on a mercy flight home from Argentina as travellers felt an overwhelming sense of relief – especially one young Tasmanian, who was afraid he wouldn’t make it home.

THERE were cheers for the cabin crew and pilots and an overwhelming sense of relief among travellers on a mercy flight home from Argentina, a Tasmanian passenger says.

Max Quick, 19, was one of about 170 people — 150 of them Australians — who arrived in Melbourne on a special Qantas flight from Buenos Aires on Sunday.

All passengers were required to wear masks throughout the flight unless they were eating or drinking.

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After a 16-hour flight, Mr Quick waited in a number of lines as passengers had their temperature checked and signed forms accepting they would go into quarantine.

Having been confined to an apartment in Argentina’s capital for weeks on end, he has now started 14 more days of isolation, but he is just happy to be back on Australian soil.

“I think everyone was very grateful that this flight had happened to come about,’’ he said. “There was definitely an air of excitement before we were leaving and everyone was upbeat about getting to come home.

“There were a lot of cheers for the cabin crew and the pilots and all of that.”

Mr Quick is at the Pan Pacific hotel in Melbourne for two weeks before he returns to Tasmania, where he is likely to have to undergo a further 14 days of quarantine.

“My family are definitely very relieved to have me back on Aussie soil and I know I was as well,’’ he said.