DURBANVILLE
Woensdag, 27 Mei 2020 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | e-pos: nuus@tygerburger.co.za
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INCREDIBLE JOURNEY: ONE FLIGHT, EIGHT COUNTRIES, MANY LOCKDOWN PROTOCOLS AND AVIATION LOGISTICS
Safely back home ESMÉ ERASMUS
@erasmusesme
“I
t’s good to be home!”, a Durbanville grandfather said when he finally made it home safely on Sunday 24 May after being stranded in Morocco due to the international Coronavirus pandemic. James de Wet (57) arrived in Morocco’s biggest city Casablanca on 15 March when first a ban on international travel was announced the next day, and four days later a lockdown state of emergency, which had been extended for another three weeks on 20 May. This resulted in his “short” business trip to last nine weeks! De Wet also missed the birth of his granddaughter, Rebecca Jane, on 23 April. Both his daughters and other granddaughter (five months), Ava, live in Durbanville. It took more than two months of pleading to the South African government to assist them to go home, hours of negotiation, a team of heroes of CemAir and lots of patience before their private repatriation was finally on its way, he said. De Wet was part of a group of 74 stranded passengers on the CemAir repatriation flight, which arrived at the OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg on Sunday 17 May. Initially spearheaded by others at first, De Wet took leadership when they departed on a charter flight on 24 March already. “I was asked by some to speak on behalf of the group and in doing so drove our efforts to get home. “For weeks we organised, collaborated, pleaded, encouraged and shared as a group. We designated tasks and became more organised daily. “A few failed attempts to finalise repatriation flights were certainly
the biggest disappointments of our time here. One was so close that our ground travel permits were prepared, ready for distribution. “We often felt deserted and that our pleas were being ignored,” he said. The possibility of a charter with CemAir was hatched and he pursued this vigorously. “No one understands the complexity of arranging a flight that covers landing in eight different countries collecting passengers in five of them. “This together with various lockdown protocols, runway repairs, logistic challenges, aviation approvals and embassy interactions made this far more difficult
than your average Kulula flight,” he said. Initially their repatriation flight was planned for 12 May. However, due to complications they eventually departed on 16 May. “When the wheels of the aeroplane finally lifted in Morocco, everybody on the plane cheered as if South Africa have won the World Cup again,” he said. “A final challenge was landing in Point Noire in Congo a day earlier than the officials were expecting us.” They had to come in specially to open up and receive the aeroplane. “The sensation of landing on South African soil was the most up-
lifting feeling ever! The crew at CemAir, led by flight commander Tino Booysens, will remain our super heroes forever. “If it wasn’t for CemAir and its owner, Miles van der Molen, we would still be in Morocco. It is simple but true; they are the true heroes, the champions of Africa. The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) did very little to assist us; they just provided final approval,” he said. They were in quarantine in the Capital Hotel in Melrose, Johannesburg for almost a week. They had themselves privately tested on Friday 22 May and after
An emotional moment for James de Wet from Durbanville was when he and fellow South Africans could finally board their plane to South Africa on Saturday 16 May. PHOTO: JAMES DE WET the results came back negative, De Wet and two other Capetonians completed their journey home – driving 13 hours non stop. The first thing I did home was “to meet my beautiful new granddaughter, have a braai with spare ribs and Joey’s boerewors,” he said. While in isolation in Morocco and in Johannesburg, he kept himself busy with video calling his family, watching movies on Netflix and with self-development, watching YouTube videos, especially of woodwork – one of his new keen hobbies.