It’s hard enough living through this Coronavirus crisis if you are confined to home but I really feel for quite a few Beckenham constituents who, to my knowledge, remain stranded abroad in places like Peru, Columbia, Spain, Morocco, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Some are young and travelling with a backpack whilst others are not so and visiting countries or relatives. They have been trying to get out now – some for two weeks. I am getting quite a lot of e mails from them and their families asking for help. Like many other MPs I have done what I can to lobby the Foreign Secretary to get constituents home.
The Foreign Office advice is that anyone stuck abroad must ensure they are registered both with their travel company and with the British Embassy there. This may not be easy in some cases so, if I know their details, I have ensured the Foreign Office at home knows about them as they should be in daily contact with our high commissions, embassies and consulates abroad.
Some people have said to me that the Government should have no responsibility for getting people who are stuck in a foreign country. After all they decided to go there themselves. But, on this, I totally disagree with them. They have the right and we as a country have a duty to get British citizens home if we possibly can. That does not however include those who have made their homes abroad.
So, I am very glad that Dominic Raab, has declared that the Government is chartering commercial flights to get people home again. But this is not a straightforward business. For instance, in many states our in-country diplomats as well as those here in the King Charles Street Foreign Office Base will have to use all their wits to get foreign governments to open up their (often) totally closed airspace to allow our aircraft to fly in and out. They also have to get transit rights across all states which the aircraft will fly over going to and from destinations. On top of that aircrew on long-distance flights must stay somewhere and that is always a problem in lockdown. Maybe there are no ground staff to refuel either. In normal times all this can sometimes be difficult but right now it is a nightmare.
Nonetheless a total of £75m has been set aside to arrange low-cost tickets to get people home. However, I do know that some people just simply cannot get to an international airport. I know of one couple stuck in New Zealand’s South Island and unable to get to the international airport on North Island. There are no flights or ferries between the two large islands. I know of another 18-year-old who is stuck many miles from the airport at Lima, Peru without any hope of getting there. I really feel for him and hope he’s got enough cash.
Unfortunately, it now seems inevitable that, despite best efforts, some will not make it home, meaning that they will have to sit out the crisis away from home and their families. Let us just hope that this worldwide lock-down is lifted as soon as possible.