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Australian volunteers who were stranded in Vanuatu after an airline failed have been offered transport home on a luxury cruise ship.
Their club, whose road insurance policy does not cover insolvency, is left with $10,000 in out-of-pocket expenses and is desperately looking for a way to get the team home.
Today, however, their luck turned.
The group boarded charter planes from Tanna back to Port Vila where a P&O cruise docked. The company has offered them a trip back to Australia on the six-day Pacific Adventure cruise.
The team was “thrilled” by the “opportunity of a lifetime,” Hive Rotary Club President Kelly Kadawi said in a social media post.
“They all responded to a plea for help after being stranded following the collapse of Air Vanuatu,” she said.
“P&O came to the rescue by offering to take us home. The team will board the ship in Port Vila… at no cost’
The cruise ship will arrive back in Sydney on Thursday.
Air Vanuatu canceled all its international flights last week, including those to Sydney and Brisbane, before declaring bankruptcy.
A statutory report to creditors later revealed the airline had a total deficit of $65.9 million ($98.6 million) and owed creditors $73.5 million ($110 million).
The Vanuatu government has stepped in with financial support as the liquidators explore ways to keep the carrier operational.
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