Peru Suspending Flights from Europe/Asia
#1
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Peru Suspending Flights from Europe/Asia
#4
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Wow.“People have come from the airport as no flights are leaving any more. People are reporting difficulty getting a taxi as movement is legally limited to the shops or doctors.”
Jorga Gec, an architect from Melbourne, told Guardian Australia there wasn’t enough time to get out of Peru.
“We woke up Monday morning to be told Peru were closing the borders at 11pm that day. We had a flight booked at 7am on Tuesday morning and a connecting flight out to Australia from Santiago, but it was too late.
“We spent most of the day at the airport trying to get a flight out. Hopeless – all flights were already booked out. We were hoping Latam [Airlines] would schedule more flights to help get people out, but they were cancelling flights.”
Other travellers in Peru have said their efforts to contact Dfat have failed, and with the embassy closed for 15 days there has been no official advice on what they should do. Some have even been unable to register their presence overseas with Dfat.
The Peruvian government has announced humanitarian charter flights – run by governments seeking to repatriate their citizens – would be available over the next few days. Guardian Australia has asked the office of the foreign minister whether there are plans to do the same for stranded Australians.
Jorga Gec, an architect from Melbourne, told Guardian Australia there wasn’t enough time to get out of Peru.
“We woke up Monday morning to be told Peru were closing the borders at 11pm that day. We had a flight booked at 7am on Tuesday morning and a connecting flight out to Australia from Santiago, but it was too late.
“We spent most of the day at the airport trying to get a flight out. Hopeless – all flights were already booked out. We were hoping Latam [Airlines] would schedule more flights to help get people out, but they were cancelling flights.”
Other travellers in Peru have said their efforts to contact Dfat have failed, and with the embassy closed for 15 days there has been no official advice on what they should do. Some have even been unable to register their presence overseas with Dfat.
The Peruvian government has announced humanitarian charter flights – run by governments seeking to repatriate their citizens – would be available over the next few days. Guardian Australia has asked the office of the foreign minister whether there are plans to do the same for stranded Australians.
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The website of the US Embassy in Lima basically tells US citizens in Peru they'll need to find lodging for the duration of the crisis. It doesn't sound like the cavalry is coming to the rescue anytime soon.
Last edited by Jeff_Costa_Rica; Mar 18th, 2020 at 11:26 PM.
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During questions in the UK Parliament, our geographically challenged Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, was asked what he was going to do to assist UK citizens stranded in Lima. He replied that they were taking all possible steps including communicating with the government of the Philippines. So that's that then.
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during questions in the uk parliament, our geographically challenged foreign secretary, dominic raab, was asked what he was going to do to assist uk citizens stranded in lima. He replied that they were taking all possible steps including communicating with the government of the philippines. So that's that then.
I did read that the Lima cluster was sourced from a LATAM pilot, so there's the explanation for the drastic lockdown, I guess. Very few (known) cases otherwise.
There are some 4,000 tourists locked up in Peru (although I can think of worse places to be, no one is allowed out on the streets between 8 pm and 5am!)
The expression of the day "Toque de queda".
Last edited by mlgb; Mar 19th, 2020 at 09:54 AM.