Stefan Omat and his wife Mercedita are crossing their fingers that their flight to Vienna today will not join the long list of cancellations made in response to the coronavirus.
What was meant to be a one-week holiday for the couple has been extended by flight cancellations between Malta and Germany and extra costs for hotel stays and alternative bookings.
“We were intending to fly back to Munich last Saturday but we were told by Air Malta on Thursday that the flight had been cancelled. They did not give us an option to re-route our flights to another destination, in order to get back to Germany,” Stefan Omat said.
The couple inquired about flying with Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines through Turkey as a way of getting home but shortly afterwards Turkey stopped air travel. Since Sunday, the pair have been living in a hotel in Sliema weighing up their options over whether to wait to be repatriated or find an alternative means home.
“We put our names down on the German embassy’s repatriation flights list but were advised that if we can make our own way, we should do it.”
German Ambassador Walter Hassmann told Times of Malta the embassy was doing all it could to help stranded passengers to return home. He said that two repatriation flights had left Malta yesterday bound for Frankfurt, taking 360 people home.
The first repatriation flight had left on Saturday and they are still working through the remaining people of the almost 2,000 on their waiting list, he said.
The couple decided on Monday to book a flight to Vienna and then rent a car to drive the rest of the journey to Munich.
“We booked all of this trip off our own backs. If we include the Malta trip and our alternative arrangements, it’s going to cost us €1,500. That is €700 for the week in Malta, €200 for the extra days in the Sliema hotel, the €400 for our tickets to Vienna and the €200 for the rental car we’ll need to get to Munich.”
Omat said he was supposed to be back at work today, working on German rail logistics.
“I called my boss and explained the situation. He was very understanding and told me these extra days will come out of my leave.”
Despite being stranded, there have been some upsides. In the past few days, Omat created a Facebook group for the stranded German community to share travel advice and meet up. The Gestrandet auf Malta – Travel Ban Germany group has over 100 members.
“My wife turned 36 on Sunday and she was sad we were not home to celebrate. I put a message out to the group and suddenly we had seven people who wanted to come out and celebrate with us. It’s a beautiful thing that people are coming together to help each other.”
While they wait in anticipation of their flight home, the pair have been trying to see more of Malta. Omat said he was surprised with the stark contrasts in the streets of Valletta and Sliema in a few days.
“We arrived the previous weekend and the place was buzzing. People were out and about. Now it’s almost like a ghost town.”