A PEMBROKE Dock man and his Pembroke fiancé are desperately calling for government help to get them home from the Philippines during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Billy Wood and Maisy Owen, both 24, are currently stuck in the tourist destination of Cebu.
Billy told the Western Telegraph: “I have been traveling South East Asia for the past four months with my fiancé, Maisy Owen. We are currently in the Philippines, and for the past 10 days we have been trying get back home to Pembrokeshire. We have had many flights cancelled due to travel restrictions here.
“We have just had our ticket home to London cancelled with just about 24 hours’ notice by Emirates. They released a statement several hours ago saying that all flights to the UK and Philippines would continue as normal to help stranded people get home.
“Somehow this decision has now changed without any prior notice. There are hundreds of UK citizens stranded out here trying to get home, but have now been dealt this blow. We do not have thousands of pounds to keep spending on flights and then having them cancelled and placed into ‘travel funds’.
“We are desperate for some media attention so the government can start helping us. Anything you can do would be much appreciated.
“We’re just overwhelmed, currently we managed to get these flights pushed forward by three days to get home as soon as possible. Emirates didn't even have the decency to email us regarding the changes.
“I just happened to be checking the app to make sure everything was still good and I noticed they had changed something. With a notice saying: ‘call our phone number,’ which I have been and you just get cut off.
“So far, we have over £2,000 in flights tied up that we are not sure if we can even get back. We just want some pressure on the government to start helping us. The embassy over here is just relying on the Filipino authorities to arrange everything.
“They've got to step in! We don't even want free flights, just flights. Many airlines at home are struggling surely the government can get in contact with them and point then in our direction.”
Billy’s mum Sarah is desperately seeking their return, stating on social media: “I'm asking for help. Billy Wood and Maisy Owen are stuck in the Philippines. I need their names shared as we need to get them home. I’m asking for help in this, please share something.”
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