The first Qantas evacuation flight brought 238 Australians from Tel Aviv to London. All were relieved, but many were also “heavy-hearted”.
First off the Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Tel Aviv was an elderly woman in a wheelchair, elegantly dressed and composed. Then came a woman who caught sight of Australia’s high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, and couldn’t contain her relief.High commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith greets an arrival from Tel Aviv at Heathrow Airport.Out came haggard-looking couples with kids. Grandparents. Students.
“It was not an easy decision to leave. We’ve left everything behind, just taken some suitcases. We knew it was the right decision to take the kids out, but it’s fraught with all the emotions,” she said. Ruthie had been visiting her Israel-based daughter and son-in-law, who had a baby boy two weeks ago. The family had spent the past week trying to ensure he had the paperwork to get on the flight.
She said she would go back to her family in Australia, but “I will just be in Melbourne basically on my phone, waiting to hear from family and friends. I have friends who have joined the army, who are reservists in the army.” The only Australian going back right now is the empty Qantas Dreamliner, ready to pick up another planeload of passengers who are due to fly out to London towards the end of the weekend.
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