A family from a paradise island 9,000 miles away in the South Pacific have been stranded in an Ayrshire village for almost a year.
Grandfather Amosa Soani, 60, his son Tumau Amosa, 31, and eight-year-old Vatau Fakavae have been rooted in Stair after numerous flights back to their home of Tuvalu were axed due to the coronavirus crisis.
Their agonising wait to make it home has seen the youngster join a primary school in Straiton while missing two birthdays with his mum and dad over the 14-month stay.
The family journeyed over to Scotland from their home island of Nanumanga in November 2019, one of nine islands that make up Tuvalu.
The once-in-a-lifetime trip to reunite with family was set to last six months with a return booked in May 2020.
But the global coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on their escape from the UK already two months into a national lockdown.
Grandfather Amosa, a chief in his home village of just 300 people, was visiting his sister Nafiata and taking along his grandson Vatau and his nephew Tamau.
Nafiata moved from the oceanic paradise to Scotland with her husband Neil McNaughton in 1976 where they set up in Stair.
The couple who have been married for 48 years offered up their home to the relatives who had never set foot on a plane before.
The visit also had a poignant touch with their disabled son, Ross McNaughton, 43, being able to see loved ones for the first time.
In an exclusive interview with Ayrshire Live, the family have told of their struggle to find the way home, with connecting flights from Hong Kong, Los Angles and Australia all cancelled over 11 months.
Neil McNaughton who stays in Straiton, who spent part of his childhood in Tuvalu told Ayrshire Live: “There was an opportunity for a six month holiday, it was my dad and I that paid for the flights, it was a once in a lifetime holiday for them.
“Tuvalu is a really remote place in the South Pacific.
“I spent four years there, my mum is from Tuvalu, she met my dad in 1975 on another South Pacific island, my mum was working as a nurse and my dad worked overseas at the time.
“The plan was the family would stay with my mum and dad for the duration, it was only meant to be six months - it’s now nearly two years that they have been here."
During their visit, Neil’s adopted sister and her family from Samoa also jetted over but they returned in January 2020 when only a few cases of COVID-19 were being reported.
By May the UK was two months into a full lockdown with the first flights scheduled to leave on May 23 cancelled.
Neil was given the option for a partial refund or to rebook flights with the family hopeful that they could return in the summer.
But subsequent flights set to leave Glasgow on July 1, 2020, August 23, 2020, October 1, 2020 and then December 2 2020, were all cancelled.
And their long wait to get home was extended into this year with flights booked for February 28, March 21 and April 4 all stopped.
Now the family are pinning their hopes on a return home on July 1, but they face an anxious wait with Fiji on the cusp of its own Covid crisis entering into a two week lockdown.
The trio also face more struggle with a US visa required to commute through Los Angles on route to the South Pacific.
Neil said: “There’s been no point when they [British Airways] have taken any accountability.
“We want them to assure us that they will get them back home when it is safe to do so.
“I’ve probably spent over 24 hours speaking to BA, it was becoming quite draining having to come home from work to call them.
“I understand it's a really difficult situation due to Covid and a lot of that is out of their control, but we aren’t given many options at all.
It is understood BA have offered a refund for flights but this would leave the McNaughton's having to fork out nearly £2,000 each for flights with no guarantee that the flights will be able to depart.
At one point the desperate trio almost took a four WEEK trip by cargo boat in a bid to get home to their island.
Neil added: “The only other alternative would be a cargo ship from Hong Kong, I did it before when I was younger, it's a cheap passage to get there you might be lucky if you get a cabin, but normally you just have to find a corner to sleep in a lift raft, if you're in your 60s it’s a bit uncomfortable."
We spoke to Tamau and Amosa via video call, with Nafiata translating for us.
The stranded pair told Ayrshire Live: “We cannot complain, it’s not going to help, we are just facing it.
“We know one day we will be able to leave.
“It has been different living here but we have gotten used to it, we are grateful to have a warm house and enough clothes to keep us warm as it can be very cold."
For Nafiata, the experience has brought back a taste of home.
She added: “Tuvaluan culture is all about family, it has been a reminder of those values of sharing things together. "
While here, the trio have cheered on Scotland in the Six Nations, eaten local fayre including haggis and have become a fan of fresh milk every morning with Weetabix a firm favourite.
They added: “Even though we wish to return home, we will miss our Scottish family.”
A spokesperson for British Airways said: "We are sorry, like other airlines, due to the current coronavirus pandemic and global travel restrictions, we are operating a reduced and dynamic schedule.
"We have been in contact with the customer and discussed their options."
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