An Australian family has been left heartbroken, split apart at either ends of the world for more than five months after six flight cancellations.
Such has been the trauma, a 13-year-old daughter, staying with relatives in Brisbane, has asked her parents stranded in Armenia: “Will you ever be back to see me walk down the aisle?’’
Strict Australian government caps on arrivals into the country, currently 4000 per week, and repeated airline cancellations have seen the Kardashian family living apart since mid March, and the chaos for more than 20,000 Australians stranded around the world looks set to extend to well after Christmas.
Arpy Kardashian, a 50-year-old social worker and Australian citizen, her truck-driving husband Harry Soghmayan, an Australian permanent resident, are currently in Armenia with their ten-month-old baby girl Arpy.
Arpy with baby daughter Arpy Kardashian.
They had been there for three years for work, but last December began the process to move back to Australia, selling their cars, giving away furniture and belongings and getting paperwork sorted for little Arpy, including booking flights to Australia for mid March.
But on the day of the flight, March 17, Arpy’s registration was still not complete so the older children Harmig, 14, and Anita, 13, both Australian citizens, left to start school in Brisbane, staying with an uncle while their parents waited behind expecting documents to come through within days.
However the painful separation has now ballooned out to nearly half a year.
”We expected it would be for two weeks at the most, that the children could get started in school, but it has been a nightmare.’’ Mrs Kardashian said.
Baby Arpy’s documents came through at the beginning of April, but by then Yerevan airport had shut because of coronavirus. Once Yerevan reopened, the family investigated flying via Belarus, or Beirut, but no matter the route every single option has been thwarted. So far they have been bumped off flights on July 15, July 21, July 27, August 15, August 22 and one planned for October 10 has already been cancelled. They have been re-booked for October 24, the day the Australian government will review the dire cap situation.
Harry Soghmayan and family Harmig, Arpy and Anita Kardashian.
Mrs Kardashian is not hopeful.
“We are booked for October 24 but I am not sure we can go and it too will be cancelled, it jut feels like its not going to happen and it too will be rescheduled or cancelled.’’
She is worried that once they eventually get to Australia the family will face quarantine charges, even though they have been desperately trying to return for months, and she cannot afford to upgrade to business class. However of late even business class fares are now being bumped so upgrading wouldn’t solve their conundrum.
Such is the family’s despair Mrs Kardashian is even considering asking the Australian government for an exemption to allow Harmig and Anita to leave Australia to come back to Armenia.
“I just want to get back to my kids, we want to be together,’’ she said.
“When my daughter asked if I would be back to see her walk down the aisle, I had to pretend the baby needed me because I was crying. My son has been very upset, he accuses us of sending him away, it breaks my heart, that is not how it is, but they are so far away and they are extremely frustrated we aren’t together.’’
The Kardashians have tried booking various airlines – Eithad, Emirates and Qatar, flying into various Australian cities but none have come through. Mrs Kardashian even thought of flying into Beirut to try for a flight from there, but “after the explosion there, my fear is I might get stuck there’’.
Australian diplomats have been trying to help those most in need and yesterday The Australian learned that 22 weeks pregnant woman, Mandy Sekr, has finally been confirmed to fly from Beirut to Australia after experiencing four previous flight cancellations. Mrs Sekr, an interior designer, was particularly anxious to be able to get a flight to Sydney before being too pregnant to fly.