A young couple’s wedding has been saved after Qantas was able to quickly reschedule flights cancelled amid ex-tropical cyclone Jasper — and airline staff personally ensured their connecting flight was also booked so they could be home in time to tie the knot.
Hannah Jefferies and Dylan Stitt were planning to fly from Cape York to their hometown of Gladstone, via Cairns, when an unprecedented natural disaster hit far north Queensland.
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“Because we were going home for Christmas, we decided to have our wedding then because all of our family would be together,” Jefferies told Cape York Weekly.
The couple, who are currently based in Weipa for work, had been due to fly out with their 11-month-old son Lenny on Tuesday ahead of their wedding on Friday.
But Jasper hit Cairns and the far north region on Sunday, causing major flooding and smashing rainfall records. Hundreds of people were evacuated from floodwaters and flights in and out of the region were grounded for several days, with the Cairns airport and runway underwater.
More than 50 Qantas and Jetstar flights were cancelled — and the couple feared they were about to miss their own wedding.
“We have about 60 guests coming but, at this stage, we aren’t going to make it,” Jefferies said at the time.
“We know there is a disaster going on and we don’t want to come across as unsympathetic because we feel awful for those impacted by the floods, but we’d really love to get home for our wedding.”
After an outpouring of public support, the airline contacted the couple to say additional flights were being scheduled on Thursday and they would be able to fly into Cairns.
“Customers who were due to travel to Cairns from Weipa on Tuesday have been reaccommodated on a flight on Thursday morning,” Qantas told 7NEWS.com.au.
Airline staff members then personally ensured the young family were booked onto a connecting flight, and they landed in Gladstone on Thursday afternoon — and will be married on Friday.
“We are delighted Hannah and Dylan are able to make their wedding on time,” the airline said.
Qantas confirmed it was still working hard to reaccommodate all other customers affected by flight cancellations amid the flooding crisis.
Some flights resumed in and out of Cairns on Wednesday, as the mammoth task of cleaning up the flood-damaged town also began.
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