Qantas evacuation charter to Egypt

[Martin Buzzell]

Originally Posted by Sarah C

Having those stored 747's at VCV would have been handy if they didn't destroy the interior. There would have to be a stop but VCV/CAI has a shorter distance than SYD/CAI. Lucky the A380's are back in the area and the 747 capacity is available.

There needs to be a "like" button for this. I suppose I'm just a 744 die hard.

[Peter Agatsiotis]

There is talk of more charters if required (I think they will be!!).

Watching the late news last night i saw a few interviews with stranded pax who are obviously traumatised by all the events. One chap from Alexandria was really giving out about the Australian Governments approach to evacuation. He had somehow confirmed a seat on the first charter but his problem is getting to Cairo, no buses, no flights, no trains and a taxi is frought with possible danger from vigilante checkpoints along the way.

His main complaints were:

most other countries had arranged flights from Cairo and other ports to take them home.

Australia was going to just 'dump' people at Frankfurt or London and then it's up to them to get home.

Fair comment but it seems our capacity is somewhat limited for this type of emergency.

[Philip Argy]

I'm not sure it's fair to expect Australia to rescue you from anywhere on the planet. Once you leave our shores I think you really can't expect much more than reasonable diplomatic assistance in a limited number of circumstances.

Having said that, some kind of resource-pooling by a number of nations should enable evacs of each others' citizens to be achieved more efficiently than appears to be happening. Would it be so hard to say that UK, US, NZ and Australian citizens, for example, can each get on any plane organised by any of those four countries?

And to complain about being taken to Frankfurt is a bit rough - why should you get a free flight back to Australia once you've been removed from danger?

Am I being too harsh? What do others think?

[Montague S]

Originally Posted by Philip Argy

I'm not sure it's fair to expect Australia to rescue you from anywhere on the planet. Once you leave our shores I think you really can't expect much more than reasonable diplomatic assistance in a limited number of circumstances.


Am I being too harsh? What do others think?

spot on, it is not our country and our government can only do so much, people should stop expecting the government to bail them out of every mess that arises in a foreign country.

[Montague S]

Originally Posted by Justin L

This quote from the above Daily Telegraph article:



But this from the Wall Street Journal:



This could cause massive problems in getting people out. The article also noted that many European based businesses have already evacuated expatriate staff with private jets.

both are News Ltd rags, you can't expect the truth from them, can you? FYI flights were still operating into Egypt yesterday.

[Philip Argy]

Originally Posted by Peter Agatsiotis

Watching the late news last night i saw a ... chap from Alexandria ... really giving out about the Australian Government's approach to evacuation

From Alexandria it's about 500 km to Haifa in Israel so if it's impossible to get the 260 km by road to Cairo, there are other options worth exploring!

[Daniel F]

Qantas are now offering passengers who are evacuated from Cairo free onwards travel to Australia.

http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn...011/feb11/5067

[Mark Grima]

Originally Posted by Philip Argy

I'm not sure it's fair to expect Australia to rescue you from anywhere on the planet. Once you leave our shores I think you really can't expect much more than reasonable diplomatic assistance in a limited number of circumstances.

Having said that, some kind of resource-pooling by a number of nations should enable evacs of each others' citizens to be achieved more efficiently than appears to be happening. Would it be so hard to say that UK, US, NZ and Australian citizens, for example, can each get on any plane organised by any of those four countries?

The general gist of this post I totally disagree with. These people that have chosen to travel to a destination, that until recently has been a safe desitination. They are not persons that have been caught up with legal issues, they are not persons who have travelled to a destination that the Government had already been warning not to travel to, thus, why should the Government not help them. They have been caught up in a situation that is no fault of their own. The cost of a charter or two from a European port to CAI and back is really not going to be that much and I would be very surprised if there is not some type of ongoing contract between QF (and other airlines) which allow for discounts on this type of charter.

To the point of Governments assisting each other I understand some Australians have been offered flights on Air Canada aircraft that have left in the past couple days. Heard this on one of the TV stations this morning but dunno which channel I had it on.

As for the persons having a whinge about where they are being taken too, then that is ungreatful. From the reports in the media they are not just being dumped in Frankfurt. DFAT officals will be there to help people with their needs. People should not expect to be given a blank cheque though and should investiagte their travel insurance policies to see what they can and can not claim. Should other organisations wish to help, as it appears QANTAS have then good luck to them.

In short, Aussies over seas should be offered this kind of assistance when they have not been at fault, however they should not bite the hands that feeds them also.

Back on the specfic topic, I hear reports of a second charter, apperently 600 Aussies have signed up, thus a 747 can not take in one load.

Cheers

M

[Krzysztof M]

2GB news just said Qantas confirmed they will fly them all the way home for free.

[Anthony T]

The 2nd 747 was just in case the 1st one died in Cairo, It didn't, so the 2nd one will also carry people out of Egypt.

All in jest

2GB news just said Qantas confirmed they will fly them all the way home for free.

Yeah right, QANTAS or any airline doesn't do anything for nothing, the positive publicity gained from the media stunt will more than pay for the fares.