Irish couple spend €4,800 on flights but still stuck in Australia
A 25 year old man from Birr in Co Offaly has told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland about the efforts he and his girlfriend have been making to get home from Australia.
Colm Cahill and his girlfriend Andrea are effectively stranded in Melbourne, after arriving in Australia in October. He said that they have spent €4,800 between them on flights trying to get home, all of which have been cancelled.
“And there's no sign of a refund from either. That was two different flights, both cancelled. The second one was cancelled within six hours. The first one we had two or three days, everything was fine, and then boom.”
The Offaly man said they had been in contact via Facebook with dozens of other Irish citizens in Australia who were in a similar situation.
It was “impossible” to get through to the airlines, he said. “People are losing thousands of euro on cancelled flights.”
The Irish Embassy has been good, he said, but it's been “bombarded” with calls.
“I don't think anyone realised there was so many of us out here in the same situation. There are people that feel trapped and like they're going to be left behind. It's scary when you add it all up.”
