God'sGift wrote: ↑Fri Apr 10, 2020 9:18 pm Why are people who are trying to get out of Cambodia (via air from Phnom Penh) not ALREADY in the capital? Makes no sense, or are they expecting a limo service to pick them up from any random spot in the country.

I have seen complaints today of "Why isn't the UK embassy sending coaches to the provinces to pick us up and get us through the road blocks."

I have also seen complaints of "Hey, the UK embassy promised us there would be sufficient time between the definitive announcement of the lockdown and the lockdown actually taking effect, we were really caught off guard here because we were waiting in the provinces for the announcement of the lockdown."

Posted 20mns ago.
Australian Embassy facebook message concerning the flight out from Phnom Penh to Australia on 12 April 2020:
post412297.html#p412297

Omagh woman reveals her distress after airport chaos at Cambodia
Darren Beattie
Friday 10 April 2020 15:54

An Omagh woman has revealed her distress after she and her fiancé were left stranded in Cambodia due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Blanaid Loughran and her fiance, Steven, left Northern Ireland to embark on an exciting adventure in January 2019, resigning from their jobs and obtaining a temporary working visa in Australia for a year.

The couple became engaged in Fiji before they planned an extended trip home which would include visiting Bali, Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam.

However, it was in Cambodia where disaster struck.

"When we booked and paid and planned all of this trip, Covid-19 wasn't even a word in the global vocabulary. However, as we travelled, it became obvious that this was a concern, but we couldn't imagine how much," said Blanaid.

"Cambodia was our second last destination and we had planned to visit the two major cities, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Phnom Penh, the capital, was obviously affected by the virus, but when we arrived in Siem Reap the effects of this virus were devastating.

"Many businesses had closed already and the places we visited were empty. In fact, the hotel where we stayed for a week only had another set of guests for two nights.

"The market, which is normally buzzing, was so quiet and eerie. The major temple complex, Angkor Wat, was including a complimentary extra day in all ticket sales to encourage visitors to hire drivers, guides and so on for two days.

"There was no panic buying and food was readily available. However, vendors and business owners were, understandably, very concerned about their livelihoods as the tourist industry waned."

On Saturday, March 14, the couple were due to fly to Vietnam, and having booked their flights back in October, there was no indication of what could have happened.

"We checked out of our hotel and went to the airport. I was a little concerned as our e-visas were still in process, but since we had paid for them and had applied for them long before the cut off date, I thought it would simply be an administration error.

"However, when we arrived at the check-in desk we were simply told we would not be boarding the flight as the Vietnamese government had only recently announced a blanket ban on all UK passports, which we were travelling on. We had no choice but to return to our hotel.

"That is when I started to panic. I knew we had to get home. Our Cambodian visas were only valid until early April and harsh fines apply for overstaying these visas. We knew we would have to cut our holiday short and try to get home early, somehow. "The couple spent the next two days trying to contact support agencies.

"We emailed the British embassy who simply sent us a generic email advising that they can't engage in dialogue with individuals. We spoke to our insurance company who initially advised that they wouldn't cover repatriation costs unless we were already sick, they wouldn't cover a Covid-19 test either in Cambodia or at home, they wouldn't cover quarantine costs and we could not reach our travel agents or the airlines. http://www.tyronecon.co.uk/news/2020/04 ... odia-9101/

The Philippine Embassy in Cambodia, busy working to help its nationals:

Filipinos get option to stay in Cambodia, which has zero COVID-19 death, or return to PH
INQUIRER.net / 04:33 PM April 10, 2020

Bangkok, Thailand—The Philippine Embassy in Cambodia has extended the deadline for Filipino workers there to opt for repatriation although the threat of COVID-19 in Cambodia, which has no recorded death because of the disease, was not as menacing as in the Philippines.

On its Facebook page, the embassy set the tentative schedule of a flight to the Philippines on April 12, Easter Sunday. No time for the flight has been set, though.

All Filipinos opting to return to the Philippines, which has more cases of COVID-19 than Cambodia, will be picked up at Phnom Penh International Airport and land at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

Arrangements for the repatriates’ return to their provinces in the Philippines should be made with their relatives. There is no clear reintegration program for the repatriates, however, but the Philippine government is requiring all Filipinos returning from abroad to go on a 14-day quarantine before they go home to their families.

In an e-mail, Myca Magnolia M. Fischer, Chargé d’Affaires, said seats are limited in the repatriation program.

“We needed to prioritize those who lost their jobs and do not have the means and support system to continue living in Cambodia, as well as others with special needs,” Fischer said.

“At this time, we are still finalizing the list of repatriates,” she said.

Fischer added that the embassy was preparing care packages for Filipinos who would opt to stay behind in Cambodia.
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/18673 ... turn-to-ph

Hahaha, the Empire strikes back against the whingers who keep sitting on their ass complaining that the embassy isn't doing enough to "save" them.

10 April 2020
French Embassy Phnom Penh
(In French)

Australian Embassy wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:03 pm Some of you have been asking about frequent flyer points. No frequent flyer points will be issued by the airline on the first leg of the flight, as this is not a regularly scheduled, commercial route. Allocation of frequent flyer points on the second leg of the flight is subject to the airline’s normal frequent flyer policy and is a matter for the airline. The Australian Government has no role in this.

First, you get stuck in Cambodia.
Then you get stuck in a remote province.
And then you worry whether Qatar Airways will issue frequent flyer points on the evacuation flight.

It just keeps giving.....

They can't take the flight because the UK embassy won't pick them up.

UPDATE
Fresh in from the British Embassy, 1 hour ago - they are ready to help those who require transport to Phnom Penh tomorrow, but you must contact them immediately, TONIGHT, by email at [email protected]. The Vietnam Airlines flight leaves on 14 April.

For any of you that are still based outside of Phnom Penh, we are still able to assist you with transport to the airport. Please email us as soon as possible this evening at [email protected] giving your full name, a phone number (if possible) and where you are currently based e.g. Kampot, Siem Reap etc. We will then work with local partners to offer you transport at reasonable commercial rates to ensure you can make the flight. We anticipate that the transport will leave each location some time mid- morning tomorrow (depending on distance from Phnom Penh), but we will be in direct contact with you once you have emailed us.

Man, I really hope they all leave and take their bitching back to the UK.