Coronavirus: Co Antrim contractor trapped on the Tarmac at RSA airport

A Northern Ireland property developer has reported being left stranded at Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg after South Africa escalated its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
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James Hagan from Ballyclare and his partner Anne Heeks have complained that the South African authorities are unfairly blocking their entry to the county following their arrival on a small chartered plane from Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

Mr Hagan is the founder and chairman of the Hagan Homes company.

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He said the pair have been singled out as UK passport holders and therefore deemed to be at “high risk” of having been exposed to Covid-19 prior to their arrival in South Africa.

Co Antrim contractor James Hagan (of Hagan Homes) has reported being trapped on the Tarmac at a Johannesburg airport due to coronavirus fearsCo Antrim contractor James Hagan (of Hagan Homes) has reported being trapped on the Tarmac at a Johannesburg airport due to coronavirus fears
Co Antrim contractor James Hagan (of Hagan Homes) has reported being trapped on the Tarmac at a Johannesburg airport due to coronavirus fears

However, Mr Hagan said, they were last in the UK in early January – many weeks before the first cases were identified – and have shared this information with the authorities in South Africa.

A Northern Ireland-based spokeswoman acting on behalf of the couple said they had been “kept in an interview room for many hours on arrival” prior to a handling agent lending them a van to sleep in.

She said: “James and Anne had completed all the necessary health screening forms and waited 27 hours to get the required flight permit to land in Lanseria.

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“All was agreed, passport details were shared with the South African authorities and health data showing they had not been to a high-risk country and in fact been in Africa since late February.

“Anne had police called to her in the airport as she refused to sign a form which stated, ‘you are a person from a high-risk country’.

“The form also was in the name of another unknown person, hence the refusal.”

Hagan Homes has built more than 4,000 homes across Northern Ireland since it was established in 1988.

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Ms Heeks is a retired specialist respiratory nurse from England who is keen to get back to the UK where her skills could be utilised in fight against coronavirus.

The spokeswoman said the couple called the UK Foreign Office to be told that “any country has the right to refuse entry,”.

She also said: “The British Embassy made contact with James this morning and they are trying to resolve the issue but still no update on progress.

“Meantime they are still being held in this van on the Tarmac.

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“Police and the airport officials also tried to put them both back on the small plane they arrived in, but the plane cannot leave with them as they have had their entry to South Africa refused.

“They cannot fly without a permit and they are now almost ‘illegals’ but they are not even being repatriated.”

The spokeswoman added: “This trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate Anne’s 60th, but this has now turned in to a living nightmare.”

The British Embassy in Pretoria has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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