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Australia Confrims Charter Flights To Bring Aussies Home From South America

The Australian Government has confirmed it will be facilitating commercial charter flights to bring hundreds of stranded Aussies home from Peru and Uruguay over the coming days.

The Australian Government has confirmed it will be facilitating commercial charter flights to bring hundreds of stranded Aussies home from Peru and Uruguay over the coming days.

The Australian travellers became trapped in South America after Peru and other surrounding countries went into total lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The travellers, who had no way to get home, said they felt abandoned by the Australia government.

Overnight Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne confirmed that the government would be flying these travellers back to Sydney on charter lights.

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Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne.

“We have been able to support these flights after holding discussions with Australian travel company Chimu Adventures, which will manage the charter operations out of Cusco and Lima in Peru and Montevideo in Uruguay,” Marise Payne said in a statement last night

“The Australian Government has worked constructively with Chimu Adventures to provide assurances, including indemnity and the underwriting of unforeseen costs, without which the flights would not be able to proceed”.

Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne

The flight from Lima is full and is expected to carry more than 260 Australian nationals and permanent residents and is expected to depart Lima within days, subject to final approval of departure permission from Peruvian authorities.

Chimu-adventures

Chimu Founders, Greg Carter and Chad Carey

The flight from Montevideo, which is also scheduled to depart in the coming days, will collect Australians from the Ocean Atlantic cruise ship, which is moored at the port in Montevideo, as well as other Australians in the area who wish to return home.

“Further facilitated flights are already being planned for Australians in South America, due to particular challenges with transport out of the region,” she said.

Australian embassies in Lima and Buenos Aires are working with local authorities in Peru and Uruguay to ensure all arrangements are in place for the flights to Australia, which has required careful and consistent negotiation.

Peru Chimu Adventures

They are also working hard to provide Australians with up-to-date information through their social media platforms and Smartraveller.

“We understand many Australians overseas face great difficulty getting home. We have agreed to consider, on a case-by-case basis, supporting commercial airlines to operate non-scheduled services to less central locations for Australians,” she said.

“We continue to urge Australians who have opportunities to travel back to Australia by commercial means, to do so as soon as possible”.