Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Aviation Development Manager at NT Airports Allan Woo about how things are going at the airport as domestic and international flights start back up today

Transcript

Katie spoke with Aviation Development Manager at NT Airports Allan Woo about how things are going at the airport as domestic and international flights start back up today · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Up here in the top end. We know that there
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: is going to be some you know, some people finally
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: getting to see their family members after what's been a
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: long and difficult time for a lot of people, and
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: people arriving in the territory today potentially for the first
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: time in a couple of years. So just how busy
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  Speaker 1: is it going to be out at the airport? Well,
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  Speaker 1: joining me on the line right now is Alan Wu,
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  Speaker 1: the Aviation Development Manager within the Northern Territory Airports. Good
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Allan, good morning Katie. Alan.
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  Speaker 1: Is it going to be a busy day for our
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  Speaker 1: airport today up here in Darwin?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think it's going to be a busy week
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  Speaker 2: and leading into twenty twenty two will be busier than
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty one. So typically around Christmas time generally see
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: a lot more departures and in January see those people
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  Speaker 2: starting to come back.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: So have we got many planes arriving in the territory
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  Speaker 1: or in Darwin today, I'll look.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Today I can give you the exact number. But on
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: an over the Christmas period there's plenty of choice for
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  Speaker 2: Territorians to travel or welcome their guests in that over
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  Speaker 2: the next few weeks, we're seeing ninety to one hundred
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  Speaker 2: flights per week, and that's just to our major capitalist
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  Speaker 2: cities over the Christmas period.
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  Speaker 1: And Allen, I understand that the flight from Singapore resumes
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  Speaker 1: today as well, and it's.
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  Speaker 2: To start tomorrow. The first place arrived in early morning
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  Speaker 2: tomorrow and the part of five point thirty and so
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  Speaker 2: that'll be a two starting at two per week. And
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  Speaker 2: I'm working with the airlines to increase out a demand permit.
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  Speaker 1: And I mean, I'm assuming, like you said there, we
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: are going to see a fairly busy time at the
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  Speaker 1: airport over the next couple of weeks and indeed through
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  Speaker 1: the new year as well. Is there anything that passengers
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  Speaker 1: are going to have to do differently when they are
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  Speaker 1: leaving or arriving that those out there listening this morning
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  Speaker 1: need to be aware of.
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  Speaker 2: There are the normal social distancing requirements. Wearing masks in
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  Speaker 2: the terminals are still required, and what still expect to
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  Speaker 2: see at the terminals are sign engine wayfinding to help
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  Speaker 2: them to keep social distance, and also a lot of
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  Speaker 2: sanitizers located around the terminal as well as the ending
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  Speaker 2: machine for those that have forgotten to bring a mask.
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  Speaker 2: In terms of travel to their definition, encourage travelers to
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  Speaker 2: refer to their airlines and also specifically to the definition
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  Speaker 2: in which they're traveling too, because each destination will have
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  Speaker 2: their own unique requirement.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think that's what a lot of people
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  Speaker 1: are wondering at this point in time. Or they're probably
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  Speaker 1: doing their research if they are due to fly out
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  Speaker 1: as well, making sure that they've done everything that they
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  Speaker 1: need to do. And I'm assuming that there is still
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  Speaker 1: sort of there are those checks and balances in places
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  Speaker 1: people are arriving in. I think it's a Department of
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  Speaker 1: health that usually do them. And they've still got that
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: area within the airport where they you know, checking people
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  Speaker 1: as they come in, are they.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. The airport has been working with Golden
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  Speaker 2: Territory governments since the beginning of COVID to ensure that
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  Speaker 2: our facilities and interminals can accommodate for their requirements. And
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  Speaker 2: it's been a very fluid operations over the last twenty
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  Speaker 2: months where we've seen the screening upon arrival shifts from
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  Speaker 2: one location into more nimble mobile mobile screening and check.
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  Speaker 2: So that's that's still happening at our airport.
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  Speaker 1: And do people need to be prepared, like do they
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  Speaker 1: need to get there a little bit early or anything
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  Speaker 1: like that if they are traveling away.
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  Speaker 2: Look again, i'd refer the passengers to their airlines because
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  Speaker 2: it does depend on where the traveling too is international
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  Speaker 2: or domestic. There's different checking requirements, so generally you need
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  Speaker 2: to be at the airport longer if you're applying on
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  Speaker 2: traveling internationally and give and the additional requirements for travel
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: these days. Yeah, Look, I would encourage travelers to come
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  Speaker 2: in and ensure that travel is less stressed pause as
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  Speaker 2: can be at this time of year. And we've got
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  Speaker 2: we've ensured that our staff and our facilities and our
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  Speaker 2: retail and to and beverage are available to accommodate that
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  Speaker 2: comfortable experience throughout the Christmas period.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Alan Woo, the Aviation Development Manager at Northern Territory Airports,
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  Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you very
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: much for having a quick chat with us.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Hey, thank you, and happy holiday for you too.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah you too, Thanks, Ali,