Story written by Nick McAlpin

AN ELDERLY couple from Bradford, deemed at high risk for coronavirus, have been left stranded in Goa, India, after flights were suspended across the globe.

Barry Lodge, 72, and Elizabeth McKelbie, 63, from Ravenscliffe, had been on holiday in India and were due to fly home on March 19.

They were supposed to travel with Etihad Airways from Mumbai to Manchester via Goa but a delayed flight in Mumbai meant they had no chance of making their connection from Goa.

Barry approached the check-in desk at Mumbai Airport only to be told: “You’ll have to go online." He said: “I’m 72 years old. I’m disabled, my partner’s disabled. I don’t know how to do online or anything like that!”

Barry says he then received an email from Etihad, assuring customers that their staff would be there to offer support in the wake of this delay. So, he approached another member of the Etihad team, phone in hand. He claims this was when the representative simply walked away, but not before reiterating the same message: “Just do it online.”

The next day, still stuck in Mumbai Airport, Barry and Elizabeth were fortunate enough to chance upon Michael Ita, a 23-year-old fellow British traveller from Bedfordshire. With his help, they were able to buy seats on another flight home that afternoon, this time with Qatar Airways, but at the steep price of £2,000.

Michael then left the couple thinking everything was sorted but it turned out that the couple's visas had expired after missing their flight the previous day.

Despite this not being their fault, Barry and Elizabeth immediately had their tickets confiscated and were escorted to the pavement. They couldn’t believe it when the airport employee who had just kicked them out came back to demand they return the wheelchair Elizabeth was using for their paying customers.

After some time spent pleading that they had nowhere else to go, they were able to regain entry to the airport, where they bumped into Michael for the second time. About to board his own flight, now an hour or so later, he was shocked to see them. “Why are you not on your flight?” he asked. Swapping details, Michael has subsequently spent every day in phone contact with Barry and Elizabeth, providing them information on potential routes home and helping them work on extending their visas.

The British High Commission in New Delhi has not been much use, they say. “We’ve tried ringing the embassy. They never answer the phone. It just rings and rings,” they said. Thankfully, they have since managed to get through to the British Nationals Assistance Office in Goa and later received a call back saying the office was aware of their situation and that they should await a call with more details on the next steps. With no firm date given for any repatriation, this was of little reassurance.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was likewise unable to offer much support. Their only advice was to suggest they ask family back home for money while looking for a way out. This is something they’ve had no choice but to do as Barry’s pension is no longer able to adequately support them.

After spending three exhausting nights sleeping in Mumbai Airport, on March 23 the couple decided they had to travel to Goa, as this was where most international flights seemed to be departing from. Given Elizabeth’s mobility issues, they were forced to make the journey by taxi - a nine-hour ordeal which set them back a further £190.

But their rotten luck would not stop there. They arrived to find the airport closed, and yet another barrier in their path. After scouring the city for a hotel that would take them, they realised their financial situation meant they would now have to share one meal a day between them to make ends meet.

“Nobody’s giving us any help. Nobody’s giving us any advice. We’ve just been abandoned,” they said.

All the while, third-degree burns on Barry’s legs have gone untreated. Despite advice that he get these looked at by a hospital, India’s present lockdown has made this impossible. He has been unable to locate a bandage and has had to resort to Elizabeth’s moisturising creams in a vain attempt to relieve the pain.

Both Barry and Elizabeth are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus. For Barry, this is due to his age, whilst for Elizabeth, it is her status a COPD patient. In fact, her medication is now starting to run out.

The message from Barry and Elizabeth couldn’t be clearer: “All we want to do is go home.”

To help Barry and Elizabeth, go to their GoFundMe page