Kiwis stranded in South America are jumping for joy after Qantas put on a rescue flight on Anzac Day to bring New Zealanders and Australians back home from Argentina. Photo / Getty Images
Kiwis stranded in South America are jumping for joy after Qantas put on a rescue flight on Anzac Day to bring New Zealanders and Australians back home from Argentina. Photo / Getty Images
Kiwis stranded in South America are jumping for joy after Qantas put on a rescue flight on Anzac Day to bring New Zealanders and Australians back home from Argentina.
The flight, which was put on by the Australian Government, has 20 Kiwis on board.
Passengers will spend one night in Melbourne before they head home to New Zealand and into quarantine.
The flight, QF7028, will depart Buenos Aires at 2pm on April 25 local time. The flight will arrive in Melbourne at 7.30pm on April 26 before 20 Kiwis make the final journey home.
There are more than 150 Australians on board the 15-hour, 7000-mile flight.
Qantas captain Alex Passerini says he's looking forward to helping those stranded, especially on an occasion like Anzac Day.
"I'm really proud, along with the whole crew who volunteered for this service, to be playing our part to bring these people home. It's a real privilege representing the national carrier on such a special flight on Anzac Day," he said.
"I also look forward to seeing the look on people's faces as they approach the aeroplane and see that kangaroo on the tail and hopefully make them feel like they are just about home."
The rescue flight comes after the New Zealand Government last week arranged a mercy flight to rescue 60 stranded Kiwis from Peru.
At the time, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said the decision to charter a flight to bring those in Peru home had been made due to many being unable to "safely shelter" in the country.
"We've been able to use the opportunity of this flight to repatriate New Zealanders in Brazil, Chile and Peru," Peters said.
Unfortunately, New Zealander Edward Storey missed the mercy flight home from Peru after dying alone in his hotel room from Covid-19.
Edward had last texted the family on April 7, the day after the New Zealand Government announced it was chartering a flight to bring back stranded Kiwis.
Although he had registered, he never boarded the plane. The family contacted Internal Affairs, then airport police, who said he was listed as cancelled. They filed a missing persons report and Interpol got involved.
Police found Edward dead in his flat in the historical quarter on April 17. His mother says he was tested for Covid-19 and found to be positive.
