Originally Posted by
adahar
Back in April 2020 a person I know was in the UK (not a student), traveling and working. When the lock down came and our Govt advised returning asap he tried to get a flight out. Lots of calls to the Govt had no effect and it took almost a month to get a flight and in the end cost $5000. This was a single guy with no family, no permanent work commitments, no health issues and willing to put up with anything to get back home.
Many people had to book several flights to have a chance of getting just one but this required substantial funds with the risk of incurring heavy cancellation fees (airlines were yet to amend their ticket conditions). If you had enough cash then you stood a chance but this created a shortage of seats for those that couldn't afford to do so which resulted in a chaotic booking system. Remember the rest of the world was trying to do the same. Prior to Covid there were 80,000 passenger movements per DAY going through Heathrow. Multiply that by a factor and imagine the logistical problems that resulted.
Unless you've been in that position it's rash to generalise, AH is correct, the Govt was sadly lacking in this area and is still dragging it's feet in all areas.