AliQ

I recently had to sign a declaration that ALL goods we were shipping, were at least one year old.

That's good news Brizzie. No update on our flight as yet, it's too early to say. We fly first week of August with Singapore Airlines, if it gets cancelled we'll re book with another airline as we have to go around that time. Enjoy your flight

Sorry, I misunderstood. Not 100% sure about the 30 / 35 year date.

You get a pro rota pension according to the years you have paid into. If you have only contributed / paid into ten years of National Insurance payments, and not or never made any more payments at all, then come retirement age, you only get a pension pro rota to those ten years. You will not get a full pension.

Thank you for taking the time to post this, very much appreciated .

Excellent question, watching this topic closely as we will need to book accommodation and transport etc.

It's not as simple as that though. We actually had flights booked to return, but within a couple of days the UK literally closed and ended our plans. We could not sell our car, could not get our furniture packed, and trying to end a tenancy with a compulsory months notice made life here so difficult, and trying to contact utility companies was a nightmare. That's why we got stuck here for a bit longer, and now in the process of returning. We're happy to pay for our quarantine, even though I worked full time for 28 years in Australia.

Good point, we'll have to watch those arriving around that time and see what they get billed. Unfortunately, we can't bring our flights forward, just too much "stuff" organised and booked etc. Never mind, at least we're moving forward with our plans.

Thanks for posting this, we're prepared to pay even though it's a chunk of our savings, just want to get back As for some of the comments in that article about "people should have returned sooner", well, it was impossible for us to do that. Can't just walk out of a house and leave it as is !!!! We were tied into a rental, had utilities to finalise, have a car to sell and furniture to pack etc, and at that time of course the car sale rooms were closed and removalists were not working. Hopefully we are all now moving forward, we're desperate for our 06.00 bacon & egg breakfast on the sea front !

Sorry, no idea but I wish I did know ! We would definitely want a refund as we'd have to buy another flight straight away. Also, we'd never use a voucher, once we get back to Aus that's it, no more travelling for us for a while.

Sorry to hear that. Our flight with Singapore Airlines the first week of August is still "live" at the moment according to our agent, but who knows. Hope your wife enjoys the flight.

I only have experience of sponsorship for nurses, and none of what you mention is normally offered.

LKC is totally 100% correct. NEVER underestimate the stress you will encounter, and money just seems to disappear into thin air. LKC, sorry to hear that your relationship did not survive, hope you are well and happy now. Having said what I've said, I'd still advise you to go, life is too short to live with regrets, especially now.

Thank you for posting your update. A lot can happen in two weeks and your wife's flight may be re instated, fingers crossed. I think Singapore will be trying everything possible to open their transit hub as soon as they can, I certainly hope so as I really want to fly Singapore Airlines.

Hi Brizzie, I've just re read the link you provided. It indicates that Singapore may review it's transit hub policy, so I'm going to hold onto that little bit of hope so we can still fly Singapore Airlines As soon as I land in Aus I'm off to the beach for a paddle !!!!

Hi, has anyone flown directly into Brisbane ? and if so, which airline please ? As it stands at the moment, flights I've seen are landing in Sydney or Melbourne first, and I think that means that you have to do your quarantine period in the first state you land in, is that correct ? Thanks.

Morning Brizzie, thank you for posting this. As we have already booked & paid for flights with Singapore Airlines, we'll have to wait for those to be officially cancelled so we can get our money back to re book with another airline. Having said that, a lot can happen between now and August !

Hi Skani, thank you, that is really useful info, I really appreciate your time in writing that. Cheers.

Hi Lavers, nice thought, but that's a big fat NO from me ! We just want to get back to Aus, settle down and get back into our little routine of daily life. Good luck with your travels though, no doubt you will be exploring everywhere once you arrive you and your family will love it in Aus.

Thanks Brizzie. Yes it's a difficult time and we just have to go with the flow really. Those last minute cancellations though are a huge worry to us, as by that time we would have vacated our rental, goods in the hands of the shippers, and we would have sold our car. We'll be homeless if we only get a couple of days notice ! Oh well, nothing we can do about it now. Good luck for your future travels, we just want to get back home

I saw that this morning, now very worried ! Our flights are booked & paid for, but that flight has now disappeared from the website. Awaiting our travel agent to get back to me with some news.

That's why I LOVE Singapore Airport, all that is in the transit zone, and more ! Just a shame that on our upcoming return to Aus via Singapore Airport, all that nice stuff is not open due to the virus.

True, it is nice to freshen up before the nest leg, but at the moment most transit hotels & facilities are kept closed (apart from the toilet) because of the virus, Singapore Airport has strict measures in place at the moment,. But in normal times, when the airport shops are open, it's lovely - if you are at a decent airport that is !

Yes, we are watching for release of any updates daily. However, I'm sure they will allow more transit passengers very very soon and your wife will be fine to fly. Singapore is an extremely organised country and their airport is fantastic, they will be brilliant at organising safe methods and routes through the airport for transit passengers. I have every faith our flight will go ahead If our flight does get cancelled, we'll have nowhere to live, so I'm being as optimistic as I can ! Hope your wife lands safely in lovely Brisbane as planned.

More airlines are now opening up flights into Australia from July. When looking at flights, don't go by price alone though, some flights are cheap because they have a long transit time, and when travelling all that way, that's the last thing you need ! We did that once and never again, it was awful.