When will we get home? Stranded in New Zealand due to Iran war

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Lori CarnochanBBC Scotland News, Christchurch, New Zealand

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Lori Carnochan

Lori travelled to New Zealand with her husband and their two daughters

Our trip to New Zealand was supposed to be an opportunity to spend quality time with my brother - who emigrated from Scotland 21 years ago - and his young family.

But the four weeks we planned are now approaching six, after two flights home to Scotland were cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The disruption has cost us about £4,500 so far, on top of the initial outlay of the holiday.

Our eldest daughter is missing school, my husband and I - both self-employed - are not earning and my parents need prescription medicine.

We know we are lucky to be stranded on a farm, 45 minutes south of Christchurch, and we are thankful to have had such wonderful hospitality for five weeks (and counting).

But when will we get home to Dumfries and Galloway?

Lori Carnochan

The family went jet-boating in Lake Brunner

During our initial four-week holiday, we had an incredible time exploring various locations in the South Island.

As a family we made some wonderful memories, immersing ourselves in New Zealand’s stunning scenery, outdoor activities and laid-back lifestyle.

We went jet-boating on Lake Brunner, dolphin watching in Akaroa and exploring in Christchurch.

We swam in lakes and rivers and watched the kids and their cousins having fun in playgrounds and on beaches.

And we cheered on Scotland in the Six Nations, from the home of the mighty All Blacks.

But just a few days before we were due to return home, a decision made by US President Donald Trump cast a very dark shadow over our planned journey back to Scotland.

The conflict in the Middle East escalated rapidly, and as soon as Dubai airspace was closed, we knew we would be staying put for a while longer.

Our flights on 8 March were cancelled.

‘Act of war or conflict’

We had booked with local travel agents, Border Travel, and we were able to get in touch with them in Dumfries and run through our options.

We could cancel our Emirates flights and use the refund to book an alternative flight home, using a different airline carrier and travel through Malaysia or America, thus avoiding the conflict zone around the Arab states.

However, the availability of flights was low and the price for tickets was high - about an additional £1,000 per person to fly home.

The second option was to re-book with Emirates on their next available flight, which was on 16 March.

We had travel insurance, but towards the end of the policy documents it stated we were not insured for any events caused by an “act of war or conflict”.

So we were not entitled to any compensation for alternative flights, accommodation etc.

We made the decision to play the waiting game and take the later flights - extending our holiday by nine days.

Lori Carnochan

Lori is visiting her brother’s family in New Zealand, with her parents, husband and daughters

The situation was trickier for my husband as he had used an online booking agency and had travelled two weeks later than the rest of us, due to work commitments.

He spent days in virtual waiting rooms trying to speak to a human only to to be instead directed to an AI chat-bot.

He ended up having to book an entirely new flight and is still awaiting his refund.

As somebody who always tries to look for the positives in difficult situations, I concentrated on the bonus of additional time together as a family, rather than the loss of income and additional expenses we were both facing.

Dubai airspace closed

On Monday we said our teary goodbyes to our family, not knowing when we would all be together again.

We made our way through check-in and security and were enjoying relaxing in the departure lounge.

However, just an hour before take-off we heard the dreaded “bing-bong” sound over the tannoy system.

Sure enough, an Emirates supervisor informed us that Dubai airspace was closed and our flight was cancelled.

Flights at Dubai International Airport had been suspended following a fire caused by an Iranian drone hitting a fuel tank.

We had to go to our boarding gate, hand back our tickets, travel back through passport control, collect all of our luggage and return to the check-in desk.

The Emirates staff gave us a phone number to call and said there was nothing they could do.

It was 18:00 and our daughters were becoming tired and hungry.

We booked a night’s accommodation in central Christchurch, hopped in a taxi and found a pub for dinner. Another £300 in unexpected costs.

Lori Carnochan

Lori’s flight home on Monday was cancelled

In terms of travelling home, we were back to square one.

Border Travel advised us that routes on alternative airlines via America were going to cost a further £6,000.

Alternatively, we could take the next available flight home with Emirates, which was scheduled for a few days’ time.

We opted for the Emirates flight, having already incurred additional expenses with the unplanned extended holiday.

We booked another two nights of accommodation in Christchurch as we didn’t want to be a further burden to my brother, Scott, and his family, who had already gone out of their way to help us.

But in between apartment hopping we realised we would have to find luggage storage and pay taxi, café and restaurant bills.

As a result, we finally admitted defeat and very gratefully accepted their offer to come and collect us.

We are now back at their home and are keeping everything crossed that our next scheduled flight departs on time.

Lori Carnochan

Lori’s brother, Scott, and his wife, Katy, have been hosting the family

As I write this article from Scott’s office, I can see my two children running barefoot around the garden with the (now autumn) sun shining on their faces.

They are blissfully unaware of the travel chaos surrounding our family trip and quite rightly so.

Extra days to play with their cousins on the farm? Brilliant news.

For the adults in the group, it’s not so straightforward.

My parents need to source prescription medication, as well as my daughter.

That means online medical appointments and expensive trips to the pharmacy.

For us, a further period of leave from work has greater implications.

My husband has once again had to cancel more kitchen-fitting jobs back home.

This has a knock-on effect for not just his customers, but for the plumbers, electrician and builders all booked in for the accompanying work.

He also loses another week of income.

Lori Carnochan

Lori has had to explain why her daughter is missing another week of school

Similarly, I can do very limited work from here.

It’s hard to film stories and report on news from the south of Scotland when you’re in the south of New Zealand.

For every day we spend here, we’re being charged £8 for airport parking, as our car begins to gather dust in Glasgow.

I’ve had to email my daughter’s head teacher and explain why she is missing another week of school.

Thankfully, some very good friends are taking care of our sausage dog, who is now training to be a less-than-useful sheepdog whilst they work through a busy lambing season.

We dearly love this country and our family here.

However, there is no place like home, and we are looking forward to landing in Glasgow.

Fingers crossed it will be sooner rather than later.

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