Rex Airlines delay leaves heavily pregnant mother with two disabled children stranded in Carnarvon overnight

A young family have been left shaken after a flight delayed by Rex Airlines left a heavily pregnant mother with two high-needs children stranded at Carnarvon Airport. Kelly Hopkinson was travelling to Perth on a Patient Assisted Travel Scheme at 35 weeks pregnant, with her eight-year-old son with autism, and five-year-old son with ADHD on July 14, to give birth. Carnarvon Hospital had ceased offering maternity services more than 18 months before, and Ms Hopkinson would not be able to fly once she passed 36 weeks. Living on a cattle station 140km from town, the mother and her two children left home at 6:30am and arrived at the airport at 8:55am for the 9:55am flight. Ms Hopkinson’s mother Trish Temmen met her at the airport to take her daughter’s car and drive it to Perth so the family had it for the six-week stay in the city. The family checked in and were told their flight had been delayed after hitting a bird on its way to Carnarvon, and needed to go in for maintenance. “I had a long drive ahead of me, so we packed everything into the car and I headed off — assuming the plane would come,” Ms Tremmen said. After waiting all day with her children, at 5pm Ms Hopkinson was told the plane would not be coming, and was faced with an overnight stay in Carnarvon with her unmedicated children. “I was told I may not be able to fly out till Tuesday, 18th July. I couldn’t believe the level of incompetence and disregard for passengers’ personal circumstance and welfare,” Ms Hopkins said in her complaint message to the airline. “By Tuesday, I wouldn’t be able to fly anymore — I’d be past 36 weeks.” She told The Midwest Times: “They just don’t seem to care at all, there needs to be more communication between Rex, PATS and their customers.” The next morning, Ms Hopkins tried her luck and went to the airport with her sons. Luckily, there were three spare seats and the family were able to travel to Perth. A spokesperson from Rex apologised to the family, saying: “We do fully appreciate the amount of distress and inconvenience every time one of our flights gets disrupted.” The company compared themselves to their competitors, “Rex Group’s On Time Departure was about 75 per cent with the Qantas Group registering six per cent lower.” “The contrast is even more pronounced for cancellations with the Qantas Group cancelling 50 per cent more flights than the Rex Group. “The Virgin Australia Group recorded an even worse performance than the Qantas Group”. The spokesperson clarified the regional airline had fallen victim to the bullying efforts of Qantas in the last three years, actively targeting Rex with “predatory” activity. The disappointment with the airline is widespread across the region, with Member for North West Central Merome Beard adamant things must change. “There’s a financial impact associated with cancellations which for many is an impost too large to bear,” she said. “The fact a new five-year agreement has just been signed and hasn’t even begun yet we are still seeing cancellations and delays across the network which the government has responsibility for is farcical.”