Anthony Thompson has tried five times to get his 11-year-old son Joe to board a flight home, with no success.
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03 August 2012
Briton's struggle to get home hinges on desperate Saudi Arabia visa application
A British man stranded in the United Arab Emirates because his 11-year-old son refuses to fly is waiting on the outcome of a Saudi Arabia visa application to see if he can travel home over land.
Anthony Thompson, 63, has tried five separate times to get his son Joe to overcome his morbid fear of flying and board a plane with no success and is now faced with a final Saudi Arabia visa application after having previous applications rejected.
He may have caught a break though with the Saudi embassy in London having contacted him to request further details of an extensive journey home which will take them overland through Saudi Arabia and Jordan before boarding a boat to Egypt, overland through Greece and Western Europe before finally sailing to Britain.
Mr Thompson said the British embassy has been extremely accommodating in empathising with Joe's fear and he hopes the Saudis will see it the same way.
"I'm hoping that the Saudis will see this as a humanitarian case," said Mr Thompson. "I just want to get Joe home."
Mr Thompson, who is an aide to former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, said he has plenty of contacts he can call on for assistance in his journey but admits he is beginning to rely on luck.
"I've got lots of contacts and they're trying to find the best option. I've got some great responses from people and shipping companies.
"It's just getting that one bit of fortune with a route out."
The Worldwide Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in Saudi Arabian visa and immigration information.
