Coronavirus crisis: Perth arrivals from Sydney fume as they’re told to ‘quarantine or fly back to NSW’

Passengers onboard flights arriving from Sydney have been given the choice to turn around and go back or self-quarantine for 14 days. Eamon Flynn — who lives in Port Hedland — was in the air when the news broke WA had shut its border with NSW. “WA Police went on the radio and pretty much said you have to quarantine, or go back,” Mr Flynn said. Mr Flynn was staying in regional NSW and only stopped over in Sydney for “all of ten minute He now has to quarantine in an Airbnb before travelling up north to his home. It’s going to cost him $2200. “It’s a pain in the arse but I kind of understand it. But maybe they could have said as of midnight so I could have had time to plan around it,” he said. Mr Flynn, emotional and frustrated over the events, said people burst into tears on the flight when the news was announced. “When they announced it, it was just a whole lot of people going ‘ah s***’. There were some girls crying because they didn’t have suitable accommodation and can’t afford anything,” he said. “People are just really upset about it. Lots of parents have kids on there and they were all really upset.” Devastated family members are waiting for their loved ones at Perth airport, unsure if they can see them and what happens next. Bianca Webster has travelled over from NSW for work. She now has to self-quarantine in a hotel, which is going to set her back thousands. “It’s either quarantine or return home. It’s either thousands of dollars or thousands of dollars,” she said. Ms Webster said she is frustrated and confused by the new rules. “I have to quarantine for 14 days at my own expensive. I can’t catch public transport to the hotel, but I can catch an Uber? It simply doesn’t make sense,” she said. “I’m kind of annoyed. When I got on the flight I was only expecting to quarantine for 24h to three days, until we get our test results back. “Now they are expecting for us to pay for hotels for 14 days or get back on the plane and go back,” she said. Ms Webster said confusion and devastation flooded the plane when the news was announced. “We weren’t given enough information… we were held on the plane waiting for 30 minutes or something. People didn’t understand,” she said. The Kelly-Haining family of four travelled from their home in South Sydney to attempt a second "once in a lifetime trip" to WA, where they were going up to their dream holiday destination, Exmouth. Unable to get return flights back to Sydney, the family are now left stranded in Perth and out of pocket thousands of dollars. The family said the rules changed on them mid-air after being told yesterday they only had to do two days of quarantine in Perth and return a negative COVID-19 test, before heading up to Exmouth. "We knew the border controls and that we had to isolate for two days. So, we prepared and came early (instead of Friday) to accommodate this, that way we didn't have to cancel our flights, cars, accommodation and tours and you know not contribute to the WA economy," Ms Haining said. "I bought the extra flights to come today and booked accommodation for two nights in Perth — which was about $2000 all up — to follow the initial rules of the quarantine. We've done all of that, everything right. It's just devastating, absolutely devastating," she said. The family — who took their kids out of school for the trip — said it's unfair how the rules changed on them so quickly. "If they are going to lock you out they should do it before you get on a plane. It's a five hour flight, it's not like the government doesn't know they are going to put the border up before they put it up," Mr Kelly said. "They should say "this is going to happen, do you want to come over and quarantine or cancel" and of course we would have cancelled," Ms Haining said. "There should have been announcements overnight. It shouldn't have been in the middle of the day with business and travelling happening. We were on a 10.30am flight and the border went up at 11am...they could have told us before we boarded as they would have known," she said. Unsure if they can get refunds for their trip, the family still has to fork out thousands of dollars for return flights home. "It's all the West Australian businesses we've paid money into as well. We've booked cars, tours, accommodation — contributed to the economy like they are screaming for," Mr Kelly said. "This doesn't just affect the WA economy, it affects everything. It stops people from moving and supporting businesses and so on," he said. This was the family's second attempt at coming to WA and visiting Exmouth — with the COVID-19 lockdown blocking them from entering the State last year as well. "We've learnt the hard way, so unless these border controls become more transparent, we won't try it again. We just won't come to WA unless we have certainty," Mr Kelly said. Brock Deighton managed to snag one of the last remaining flights back to Sydney — setting him back $900. Mr Deighton was heading to Perth for business when he was told to head home. Flights back to Sydney are being quickly booked up or cancelled leaving many frustrated passengers stranded and forced into quarantine. “I got lucky, I got a seat. I have to travel to Brisbane first and then wait six hours before jumping on a plane back to Sydney,” Mr Deighton said. Noticeably tired, Mr Deighton that it was just a gamble, and he lost. “I mean it was obvious a lockdown was coming. We all rolled the dice and unfortunately we lost. It was just luck of the draw,” he said. Mr Deighton was able to travel freely through the airport and wait for his flight home.