It was a trip that they waited a year for, but now two women from Connecticut are stranded thousands of miles away in Peru.
Amy Pavlik, of Shelton, and Guiliana Candiotti, of Stratford, have been stuck in Peru for almost two weeks as the country is under a national lockdown. The two say the last flights out of Peru were going for $3,500.
"The airport was ridiculously packed," says Pavlik. "People were panicking everywhere, and we were just told from every single airline that no, there were no more flights and we would just have to hunker down and wait for the next 15 days."
The State Department says it's organizing flights home for thousands of stranded Americans. In a letter to the agency, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy complained that travelers "have received little to no guidance about next steps for returning to the United States."
"I personally, for example, have spent a good deal of time talking to the Peruvian ambassador," says Blumenthal. "And we've pressured the State Department to send charter planes."
Pavlik says she's only received sporadic emails.
You will see this week and into the weekend the movement of Connecticut citizens out of Peru happening much faster," says Murphy.
Pavlik says her friend's 7-year-old daughter continues to get more and more worried. She says they just keep trying to reassure her that they will be home soon.
Sen. Murphy is also urging the U.S. military to evacuate Americans from Peru.
The impact of the coronavirus around the world
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