By Glenn Jackson
Plane wrong ... All Blacks World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams was stuck at Sydney Airport yesterday.Credit: Lee Besford
WHEELCHAIR athlete Kurt Fearnley has overcome volcanic ash clouds to race, so the grounding of the entire Qantas fleet was not going to stop him travelling to New York this week. When the airline made its decision on Saturday evening, he immediately coughed up $4000 for other flights in order to compete in this week's New York Marathon.
''No matter what, I was getting to New York,'' said Fearnley, who will still leave tomorrow as planned. ''That race is a cracker. I couldn't not go.''
Last year, Fearnley had given up on securing a flight from Sydney to London - ahead of the London Marathon - due to the European ash cloud, but ultimately did so.
''Apart from the money, at the end of the day, I race wheelchairs, and as long as I get to do that I'm pretty happy,'' he said. ''I've come through the northern hemisphere's volcanic ash clouds. This [action by Qantas management] is much easier to deal with than that.
''There are always other options out there. As soon as it was announced, I got myself an alternative flight. It's just tough on the guys who can't afford it.''
That group might include Australia's men's and women's basketball teams, the Rollers and the Gliders respectively. They, along with the wheelchair rugby (murderball) team, the Steelers, are due to play in a qualification tournament for the London Paralympics this week in South Korea. Those plans are now in disarray.
''We are looking at some different options like other airlines,'' Rollers coach Ben Ettridge said. ''[We're] very lucky that Basketball Australia and the Australian Paralympic Committee are very organised and professional in dealing with these sorts of things.
''Financially I believe refunds are available, but for us now it's a case of buying new tickets and possible transit accommodation if we go through Japan or Hong Kong.
''For our athletes, this is just another test of their mental toughness. We may take a little longer to get there, but we will be in Korea giving it our all.
''Hopefully in September next year we are sitting in London and this will be a minor setback.''
Others had more domestic problems. The Perth Glory W-League outfit - which played Canberra on Saturday - have been unable to secure a Virgin flight home until Thursday, which has created significant issues for players who work and study full-time.
''There's a few work commitments and uni, so it's been a bit of a scramble,'' Perth coach Jamie Harnwell said. ''Everyone realises it's very much out of our hands. We're just going to use it as a team bonding trip, make the best of it. My wife's over here and we've got three kids who are with their grandparents at the moment, so that's not ideal. One of the girls was meant to do a prac exam this week to complete her teaching degree.''
Few sports will have been left unaffected. Members of Australia's victorious one-day cricket squad have been impacted as they attempt to return home from South Africa. Doug Bollinger, Xavier Doherty, James Pattinson, Steve Smith and David Warner, who are not part of the upcoming Test series, were last night having transfers arranged to return to Australia. The players heading to South Africa to join the Test squad were in the air before the lockout.
Victoria, who were defeated by NSW in a one-day clash yesterday, were yet to decide last night how they would return to Melbourne, having been booked on Qantas flights today. Queensland are more certain about their plans, with coach Darren Lehmann's public plea for assistance leading to an air carrier coming forward to take his squad to Perth.
Lehmann had used Twitter to plead for a private plane to carry the squad to Perth for a Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia. The four-day match was due to begin tomorrow but will not start on Wednesday due to the grounding.
Lehmann sent another message last night which said: ''Want to say thankyou to strategic airlines, for getting the bulls to Perth ! Great work guys hope everyone is going ok with travel!''
The travel problems also affected sports stars in off-season mode. New Zealand rugby's World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams was caught up in the chaos at Sydney Airport yesterday, while Wallabies twins Saia and Anthony Faingaa, who had been in Hobart for teammate Luke Burgess's wedding, will remain in Tasmania until tomorrow. ''Qantas unbelievable Now what r we going to do??'' the pair said via their Twitter site yesterday.
Fearnley, though, was reluctant to be critical of Qantas, given the company pours millions of dollars into Australian sport annually. And sportspeople, he said, were down the list when it came the impact on their lives from such an event.
''We're not trying to get to family who might have passed away,'' Fearnley said. ''We're going off to have a game. It's sport. I think it would be a bit of poor form for any athlete to take a swipe at that company. You name a team, they [Qantas] have helped them out.''
Sign up for the Traveller newsletter
The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.