Stranded in South Africa: Dr Helena Edwards faces £5,000 bill and slams British embassy for 'complete lack of assistance'

AN NHS doctor who grew up in the New Forest has been left with a £5,000 bill after being stranded for days in South Africa when flights were cancelled by the latest Covid-19 variant outbreak.

Helena Edwards (34), who was taking a break with a friend from working on coronavirus wards, said they had to endure a “chaotic” Johannesburg, filled with thousands of other stuck Britons.

She claimed they were effectively abandoned by Dutch airline KLM and faced difficulties trying to book a self-isolation space to return to the UK, with demand far outstripping supply.

She slammed both the airline and the British government for its failure to help travellers stranded in South Africa.

It was only after a frantic scramble and six-hour online queue to book a flight and quarantine hotel package that they managed to secure passage home, scheduled to arrive in the UK yesterday (Thursday).

Speaking to the A&T from South Africa this week, Helena called the UK quarantine hotel booking system “not fit for purpose”.

She said: “It’s been a stressful 72 hours or so. The worst part has been the complete lack of information or assistance from the UK government or embassy.”

Helena, who grew up in Everton where her family lives, went to South Africa to experience the popular 300km Garden Route, having worked on frontline Covid-19 wards at the height of the pandemic.

She is a renal and medical hospital doctor and began the pandemic at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth before a transfer to Hammersmith Hospital, where she also worked on research with a team looking into how vulnerable patients responded to Covid vaccines.

Helena and her companion were coming to the end of their break in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, when there was an outbreak of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in South Africa – prompting the UK government to impose new travel restrictions.

The pair contacted KLM to ask whether they should honour their booking to take an internal flight to Johannesburg before going to the UK. They were told they should and went to board the plane.

But Helena said that when they arrived at the Johannesburg airport check-in, KLM refused them access as the airline was helping only Dutch national and EU passport holders.

“When we asked for proof we had tried to board, they put our flight booking on hold and gave us a phone number to call to request a refund,” she said.

“It’s unclear yet as to whether they will refund us or play hard ball and say it was a Dutch government decision and not theirs.”

They were stranded in Johannesburg where Helena noted the population density is much higher than Port Elizabeth, heightening their chances of catching Covid-19.

They had to locate a hotel, which was also more expensive and harder to find as many other British travellers were stranded there too.

They booked a British Airways flight out of South Africa for yesterday – but found all the quarantine spots were filled until next Monday.

So they had to rebook a package deal comprising a £360 flight and quarantine hotel spots – costing £3,715 between them – and spend over £100 a night on hotels for five extra days.

In response a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said it was continuing to offer “tailored consular assistance” to British nationals overseas, adding: “We’ve always been clear that no travel is without risks, and we would respond rapidly if risks from any country increase.”

He added “hardship loans” were available “for those who genuinely cannot afford to pay for the managed quarantine service up-front and are eligible” and travellers should make use of commercial return options and also to check FCDO travel advice and local guidance.

The Managed Quarantine System (MQS) was the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care, he said, adding that all travellers to the UK must have a MQS hotel booking otherwise they would not be able to board a flight to the UK.

“Additional MQS capacity is being added over the coming days and weeks to meet expected demand,” he said.

KLM did not reply to an A&T email.

On its website it said passengers could board their flights if they had Dutch passports, were EU citizens, Schengen residents, medical emergency staff, ships’ crew or travelling under exceptional circumstances, and complied with its testing rules.