Repatriation New Zealand
We already knew that a job as a Business Travel Consultant is rarely boring. A year ago, we were also going through a new, uncertain and exciting time globally. For Uniglobe Alliance Travel, this meant rushing to rebook, repatriate travelers, cancel and reassure customers. Because borders suddenly closed, flights were canceled, travelers were stranded. We look back at some of these trips after a year. This time with Jizlia and Jeanine, about a repatriation of a group from New Zealand.
After months of preparation ... things turned out differently after all
Jizlia: It is March 2020 when a large group of employees from one of our regular customers is ready for departure from Poland to New Zealand. They are traveling here for a stay of several weeks for on-site maintenance work. Months of preparations preceded this trip. My colleagues and I had worked with the customer just before departure to finalize all the details and the group's departure was divided over two dates. The first group had already left when the coronavirus suddenly spread rapidly. New Zealand went into lockdown and, effective immediately, completely shut down. Because of this sudden lockdown, the second group could not leave from Poland because they would not be allowed to arrive in Auckland, New Zealand's capital city.
The first group of about 20 travelers that had already arrived was able to carry out planned maintenance work on site for another week until their local partner shut down the project. The group was now officially stuck in New Zealand and couldn't go anywhere. Flights were no longer going. Stores were closed and only a few supermarkets were still open. Now it was up to us to fly this group back to Poland as soon as possible. However, due to the sudden lockdown and the virus spreading further and further around the world, this went anything but smoothly. Many flights were canceled, not only to and from New Zealand but all over the world. As a result, the number of seats on flights that did leave became very scarce.
The emergency service also went to work
Jeanine: Normally I book the trips for the customers of Uniglobe Alliance Travel in Goes. However, during the emergency service we help all customers of Uniglobe Alliance Travel, so also from our colleague offices Rotterdam and Arnhem. I had already been informed by my colleagues from Rotterdam on Friday that a group of about 20 people, who were in New Zealand, were scheduled to fly back to their home country of Poland. On Saturday morning I was already called by this customer with the message that unfortunately the booked flights had been canceled. So I started looking for alternatives.
There were flights via Australia, however the travelers had to remain "in transit" (transfer without checking in again). Since we could only book single tickets and thus the travelers had to go through passport control again, the travelers would not stay "in transit" and thus this was not allowed. There were still flights available via Singapore. So I put the flights in option and the offers to our client. It was the time when many countries were suddenly "locked" so I checked whether it was still possible to fly via Singapore. Unfortunately, it then turned out that flying via Singapore was no longer allowed either. Not even if one remained "in transit."
Jizlia: We also tried to book tickets with the client on a so-called repatriation flight set up by the government of Poland. The only drawback was that the flight would only pick up passengers as far as Sydney, Australia and not "a long way" away in New Zealand. The option to book tickets to Sydney was not available because flights between Australia and New Zealand had also been scrapped.
Jeanine: It looked like the group would have to stay in New Zealand longer. New Zealand would also soon be "locked down." Getting the group back home before the total lock-down did not look like it was going to work. We had done our best, but in this case, as frustrating as it was, it was not going to work right away. Of course, the entire team continued to search daily for every possible escape option.
As if fate played with it
Jizlia: We found another new possibility via America. The idea was to have the group fly to the Netherlands with a transfer in Los Angeles and travel from the Netherlands back to Poland by bus. For a while it looked like it would work. Although there was not enough room on the same flight so the group was now divided over three days. But as we might have expected, these flights were also canceled.
And back to square one...
Jizlia: And so we started again from scratch. Available flights were fewer and fewer, more countries held up flights and transfer passengers, and the group had to stay in New Zealand an extra week. Until finally we had enough seats available on Qatar Airways flights to the Netherlands with a transfer in Doha, Qatar. Qatar Airways was one of the few airlines that still operated regular flights during corona. They also continued to fly to some destinations during the pandemic, including Amsterdam. Again spread out over several days, the group left New Zealand by plane. The transfer in Doha, where we also booked an overnight hotel because of the long layover, fortunately went smoothly.
Back on European soil again
Jizlia: Three weeks later, the group finally arrived back in continental Europe. A tour bus was waiting for the group at Schiphol Airport and so after this exciting time, on the other side of the world, they could finally return to their families.
Fortunately, such extreme circumstances do not occur often. We will always do everything in our power to get travelers back home as quickly as possible in the event of an emergency. This repatriation was a feat of strong teamwork ... a puzzle that changed shape every time, but where with our qualified colleagues, our global network and smart booking systems we were able to ensure a successful homecoming for these travelers.
Would you like to read more about our smart systems Or would you like to learn more about how to accommodate your future business travel with this dedicated team? Then click here To contact us.
Travel Well
Jeanine Vermue & Jizlia Telussa
Business Travel Consultants
