'The airlines need to do more' - Fears for hundreds of Irish citizens stranded in Spain
There are fears that hundreds of Irish citizens could be left stranded in Spain where Covid-19 is rampant.
Families of those stuck overseas pleaded with airlines tonight to lay on extra aircraft for mercy flights home as thousands of Irish holidaymakers scramble to get seats.
An estimated 20,000 Irish people are in some of Spain's top holiday spots as the global aviation industry begins to shut down amid unprecedented travel restrictions designed to halt the spread of the virus.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney advised people to make arrangements to get home before midnight on Thursday.
Beyond that, he said, there are no guarantees about when they might be able to get home.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus said they are doing all they can to get people home despite the crisis.
But Sinn Féin Cork North Central TD, Thomas Gould, who finally managed to book a flight home yesterday for his uncle from Lanzarote, said more needs to be done to help hundreds of others out there who are still frantically trying to get home.
"We had three phones and a laptop going in two different houses trying to sort this out. It was a family effort," he said.
"It took me 58 minutes on the phone just to get through the Aer Lingus.
"And as I was on the phone, a seat just happened to become available on one of the websites and we just booked it.
"It cost us €403 to change his flights but we've managed to get him into Dublin on Wednesday and we'll get him home from there.
But what about the people who don't have the money, or who don't have the kind of support he had here to sort it out.
"These people just want to be home, where they will have support and their families around them - not stuck in Spain where the place is on complete lockdown.
"The airlines need to do more to get people home. They need to put on more flights, and they need more people in their call centres."
