Dubbo-born man misses flight home after customs officers keep him waiting

Dubbo-born Scott Murphy is one of the many unfortunate Australians who is currently stuck overseas.

Mr Murphy was attempting to fly from Calgary in Canada back to Sydney to start his dream job before he was upheld by United States Customs forcing him to miss his flight.

"I proceeded through Canadian security with no issues, coming into US Customs it was eerily quiet in the airport so I'm guessing they just pulled me aside for an exercise because they were bored," Mr Murphy said.

"There were signs in the waiting room saying "no electronic devices or cell phone use" so I couldn't see the time but I could feel I was getting text messages, later I found out it was the airline telling me I was about to miss my flight.

"I heard over the radio that they were looking for me and the flight was about to depart they (US Customs) replied and said 'yeah we've got him here, how long do we have?' The gate replied '10 minutes' and only then did they call me up."

After being interrogated, constantly asked whether he had done drugs, had drugs, weapons and any food or drink, US Customs proceeded to completely unpack Mr Murphy's suitcase which contained sky-diving gear, snowboarding gear and some tools for his electrical trade.

Following no discovery of any prohibited items in his suitcase or his jacket US Customs let Mr Murphy go, telling him "you'd better run your flight is leaving".

After missing the flight by two minutes, airport staff tried to assist Mr Murphy in finding another flight.

"'Sir it's not looking good for you. Australia have a strict flight cap and are only letting about 50 people in a day'" is what Mr Murphy says he was told by a US airport worker.

"This was obviously not new information for me because I have been looking and trying to find a flight back for months," Mr Murphy said.

Luckily for Mr Murphy, he was able to have his visa extended from 23 days to a further six months.

"I am currently staying at a friends place and have no idea when I'll be able to get a new flight home, even if I could afford it," he said.

Mr Murphy says a fundraising page was started but he asked the creator to remove it due to the discomfort in bought it him.

"A friend actually started a GoFundMe (page) but I asked her to remove it, I know everyone is struggling through COVID at the moment and I didn't feel comfortable getting money from my friends," he said.

Unfortunately, getting back to Australia is getting more and more difficult.

"I did manage to get a flight credit from United (Airlines) although they didn't want to give it to me, it's not going to help though as I booked this flight for $2300 a long time ago and now there is some in March $5000 upwards," he said.

It has also strained Mr Murphy's relationship as his partner is currently stuck in New Zealand.

Mr Murphy has refocused his attention to finding a job in work in Canada.

"I've almost given up on trying to get home as I can't get home as I can't go through that experience again anytime soon, and I'm trying to turn my attention on gaining a work permit again here in Canada, it seems the government here want me more," he said.

Once landing back in Australia, Mr Murphy will have to undertake a mandatory 14 day quarantine period before will able to travel within NSW.

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