Coronavirus: Couple from Gosport stranded near Russia after Covid-19 outbreak prompts cancellation of all flights
A COUPLE hailing from Gosport have been left stranded 2,700 miles from home after the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of most flights in and out of Georgia.
The nation, neighbouring Russia, is the latest stop on husband and wife Robin Frape and Julie Binnington’s travels as they visit as many places as possible in a fight against sight loss.
Robin, a 52-year-old former hydrographic surveyor in California, USA, was registered blind in his mid-40s and will eventually lose his sight because of retinitis pigmentosa.
He and former property manager Julie, 52, have been travelling across Europe and the Middle East raising money for the charity Retina UK since they married three years ago.
The pair, who have now raised more than £3,800, flew into Kutaisi, Georgia on March 13 but were told by Wizzair two days later their March 26 return was cancelled.
They now find themselves isolating at an apartment in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, hoping to fly to London Gatwick on April 4 – a journey that would set them back £564 at current prices.
It would follow the disappointment of three other attempted flights home which all ended in cancellation, including one that took them as far as the Tbilisi International Airport runway.
Julie said: ‘We managed to find a flight with Turkish Airlines – their very last flight out – on March 20 from Tbilisi, via Istanbul to Heathrow.
‘45 minutes from boarding the plane it was cancelled, ironically because of the targeting of drones over Idlib, Syria and not the virus.’
She added: ‘The rollercoaster of hopes rising and dashing is soul-destroying.
‘We fear we will be stuck here and the stress of it all will make us vulnerable. We just want to be home.’
The couple have been promised refunds from Wizzair and Turkish Airlines but are yet to be repaid.
Their attempts to seek help from their insurance company and the British embassy in Georgia have also ended in failure, they claim.
Now a ‘never-ending search' for a home-bound flight takes up most of their time, while Julie seeks momentary relief from Scandinavian Netflix dramas and Robin watches fishing videos on YouTube.
On locked down life in Georgia, Julie, who now lives in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, said: ‘Everything is shut except pharmacies and supermarkets. I think people are adhering to the lockdown here more than it seems they are back home.
‘The government message is the same worldwide – stay in, stay clean and test, test, test. We bought a thermometer and check ourselves at least once a day.’
On Britons’ failure to adhere to government social distancing guidelines by flocking to beaches and countryside beauty spots, she added: ‘It's so short sighted.
‘It's not themselves they are necessarily putting in danger, it's others.
‘You've just got to live the best way for you to sleep at night. That's what I think.’
You can follow Julie and Robin’s travels via their Facebook page at facebook.com/RP.WTF
Or, to donate for their fund for Retina UK, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/walking-terra-firma