A WHAKATANE couple are relieved to be in New Zealand after landing in Auckland early Wednesday morning on a government-endorsed flight from Peru.
Naomi Courtney-Tennent, 30, and her fiancé, Nicolas Christie, 27, both teachers in Whakatane, said everything went smoothly with their flight.
“The airport was well organised in New Zealand. We had our temperature taken and a few health questions. Then were put on a bus and taken into Auckland.”
Ms Courtney-Tennent said their families were also relieved that they were home.
The pair have gone into quarantine. “Relieved to be back. In a very nice hotel in Auckland now for two weeks,” she said.
They said they wanted to thank everyone for their support in getting them home.
The couple was among 60 Kiwis aboard the LATAM Airlines flight that landed in Auckland at 5am on Wednesday. The flight left Lima in Peru and flew via Santiago, Chile.
The tickets for the flights were $5330 each from Lima.
The New Zealand Government worked with tour operators Viva Expeditions and partner Chimu Adventures to bring the New Zealanders home from Peru following earlier flights that assisted Australians to return home.
Several Kiwis had been booked on that charter flight via Australia but were bumped off the flight days before departure due to a mix-up over Australian border restrictions. The Whakatane couple were on a waiting list.
The Kiwis in Peru have been in strict lockdown since March 16 and have pleaded with the New Zealand Government to assist them to leave as flights between New Zealand and South America are on hold.
Ms Courtney-Tennent and Mr Christie had been holed up in a hostel in Miraflores before moving to an Airbnb. They said then that they moved because they had heard of hostels shutting as tourists from other countries were being repatriated.
They were among Kiwis in Peru who wrote an open letter to the New Zealand Government two weeks ago asking for assistance to leave the country.
Peru had been in total lockdown and also under a state of emergency, with armed guards in the street restricting people’s movement. Its borders closed, barring all commercial flights.
The couple were due to leave Peru on a flight to Colombia and then on to Los Angeles the day before the borders closed. However, when they got to the airport only Colombians were allowed to board the flight and no other flights were available.