Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Aviation Development Analyst Bruce Dale about the first ever non-stop flight from South America to Darwin

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Katie Woolf spoke with Aviation Development Analyst Bruce Dale about the first ever non-stop flight from South America to Darwin · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We understand that there's a historic flight which is going
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: to be arriving in Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: I believe it's.
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  Speaker 1: Actually tomorrow morning. And joining me on the line to
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  Speaker 1: tell us a little bit more is well Darwin the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory Airport Development Group. And joining us on the
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  Speaker 1: line is Bruce Dale, who's the aviation development analyst.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Bruce.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time this morning. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: for joining us.
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  Speaker 2: Tell us a bit more about this historic flight. Where's
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  Speaker 2: it coming from?
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  Speaker 3: Okay? So the flight is coming from Buenos Aires in Argentina.
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  Speaker 3: It's going to fly south over Antarctica for heading acrossing
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  Speaker 3: the Australian coast about the Great Australian Blank and it
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  Speaker 3: will touch down tomorrow afternoon, just in time for a
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  Speaker 3: fantastic darl And sunset.
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  Speaker 2: Wow is this?
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  Speaker 1: I mean? Have we ever had a flight arrived from
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  Speaker 1: Argentina Argentina and go that way to get here?
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  Speaker 3: No, not at all. It's actually historic on a couple
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  Speaker 3: of levels. It's the first time there's ever been a
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  Speaker 3: norm stop flight between South America and Darwin. It is
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  Speaker 3: actually going to be Quantus's longest ever commercial flight we're
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  Speaker 3: just going to fip out that Perth to Darwen, sorry,
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  Speaker 3: that pers to London flight. And it's also the first
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  Speaker 3: time that any airport in Australia or Asia has actually
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  Speaker 3: had norn stop flights from all six habited continents of
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  Speaker 3: the world, and it's the first for Darwen too.
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  Speaker 2: Wow.
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  Speaker 1: And so Bruce, I am of the understanding that this
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  Speaker 1: is obviously one of those flights bringing people home that
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  Speaker 1: will then go through Howard Springs.
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  Speaker 2: Is that correct?
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  Speaker 3: That correct? It is a repatriation flight, so one.
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  Speaker 2: Of those repat flights.
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  Speaker 1: How long is it going to take for that flight
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  Speaker 1: to actually you know, in terms of flying.
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  Speaker 3: Time, yes, it's going to be eighteen hour flight, so
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  Speaker 3: it is quite a long way. But what they've I
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  Speaker 3: guess what they've got to look forward so is they're
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  Speaker 3: going to be flying over parts of the world which
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  Speaker 3: probably people have never seen because Antarctic is so remote.
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  Speaker 3: So it's one of those flights where you might want
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  Speaker 3: the window season. Although it's eighteen hours, it will be
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  Speaker 3: in some daylight the whole time because of course it
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  Speaker 3: tracks over the South Pole, which is in daylight now right.
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  Speaker 1: So it'll be daylight the whole time. That they're flying
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  Speaker 1: for those eighteen hours.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, yes, so I hope you have your eye shades
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  Speaker 3: ready if you are a plane to make flight.
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  Speaker 2: That lot, well you might have. I mean, obviously you
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  Speaker 2: would need them you get tired at some point. But
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  Speaker 2: by the sounds of it, it's going to be pretty amazing.
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  Speaker 2: It is a fairly spectacular flight, yes.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, it is. So it's very rare to have flights
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  Speaker 3: actually go over Antarctic continent itself, so it's fairly unique.
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  Speaker 3: But Quantitas have had fantastic experience with like flight seeing
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  Speaker 3: trips down to the Antarctic, so they are accustomed to
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  Speaker 3: that part of world and they'll do it in amsolute safety.
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  Speaker 2: What's led to the flight getting off the ground?
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  Speaker 3: Okay, it's of course the repatriation process with Australian government
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  Speaker 3: bringing everybody to how it springs, and they've just got
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  Speaker 3: to bring Ozzie's home from all corners of the world.
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  Speaker 3: So this is feeling the final piece of the jigsaw
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  Speaker 3: puzzle for at least one part of the world for
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  Speaker 3: OSSI used to get home.
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  Speaker 1: And I know that you touched on this the first
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  Speaker 1: time that Darwin's received flights from every continent. How are
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  Speaker 1: you guys feeling out there at the airport. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: is it pretty when we sort of realized that Covidook's unfolding,
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  Speaker 1: I don't think that we probably anticipated that we'd have
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  Speaker 1: more flights arriving from all these different locations than what
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  Speaker 1: we'd ever imagined.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, yes, oh no, there is a bit of excitement
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  Speaker 3: about I mean, I'm an airline industry work. Aviation industry
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  Speaker 3: work in the past couple of years have been tough,
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  Speaker 3: and this is just a cause to celebration, I think,
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  Speaker 3: so to build to bring this together. It just shows
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  Speaker 3: the resilience and the adaptability and tenacity of everybody working
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  Speaker 3: in the aviation system. And sometimes you just need to
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  Speaker 3: acknowledge what is historic and important and give yourselves, I think,
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  Speaker 3: a little bit of a pat of the back for
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  Speaker 3: doing a job well done. It keeping Australia connected.
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  Speaker 2: What type of plane is that?
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  Speaker 3: Okay, it's going to be a seven eight seven Dreamliner,
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  Speaker 3: so that's quite OF's latest version. Wonderfully fuel efficient, great
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  Speaker 3: for the environments and also some of the largest windows
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  Speaker 3: in the world, so if you are flying and looking
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  Speaker 3: over at those views, you won't miss a thing.
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  Speaker 1: And we have had we've already had those Dreamliners fly
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  Speaker 1: into Darwin, haven't we absolutely?
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  Speaker 3: I mean, if you are a plane spot or at
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  Speaker 3: least vaguely interested in keep an eye out for Emily.
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  Speaker 3: That is the Dreamliner which is painted in the wonderful
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  Speaker 3: colors from Alice Springs, you know, the Indigenous art program,
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  Speaker 3: so it carries the anti culture around the world. It's
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  Speaker 3: a fantastic piece of art. There you go, are given for.
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  Speaker 2: The NT And so is it who's arriving on as
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  Speaker 2: in what flight?
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  Speaker 1: Is it? All?
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  Speaker 2: What?
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  Speaker 1: What plane is it that's going to be arriving tomorrow?
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  Speaker 1: Is it Emily or is it someone else? No?
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  Speaker 3: Unfortunately not. The name of the aeroplane is Great Barrier Reef.
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  Speaker 3: I think it's nice a Quantas to do name the aircraft.
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  Speaker 3: But this one is going to be called Great Area
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  Speaker 3: of Barrier Reef and it will be in the standard
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  Speaker 3: Quantus colors.
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  Speaker 2: And how any idea how many passengers we're going to
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  Speaker 2: have on the flight?
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  Speaker 3: That will be determined actually once the aircraft in the air. Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: but on average, the Repat flight's been taking about one
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  Speaker 3: hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty passengers on
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  Speaker 3: every Dreamline and it's come in.
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  Speaker 1: And obviously, well, well, like we've touched on, it is
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  Speaker 1: going to be going out or those passengers will be
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  Speaker 1: going out there to Howard Springs. But g it is
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  Speaker 1: pretty amazing where we're getting all of these flights, you know,
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  Speaker 1: sort of coming from. And I know, I think there
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  Speaker 1: was one even last week. I can't remember where it
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  Speaker 1: had arrived from, but I thought, oh goodness, I didn't
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  Speaker 1: even realize that we were receiving flights from those locations.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, yes, overall we've actually welcomed repat flights from fourteen
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  Speaker 3: destinations around the world, so everything from as close as
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  Speaker 3: Dilly to now as far as when it's are.
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  Speaker 1: There, you go, well, pretty amazing stuff it is. It's
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  Speaker 1: certainly going to be interesting and I'm sure there'll be
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  Speaker 1: people keeping an eye out for that flight. What time
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  Speaker 1: are we expecting it to fly overhead Bruce?
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  Speaker 3: Okay, it's due to land at six forty in the evening.
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  Speaker 3: But if you are interested, there's things like flight Radar
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  Speaker 3: twenty four which where people can go and track and
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  Speaker 3: if there's any updates, it will appear on the day
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  Speaker 3: when airport website as well, so the actual arrival time
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  Speaker 3: will be posted there.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Bruce Dale, the aviation Development analyst for the airport,
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  Speaker 1: we really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks so much for having a chat with us.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, Katie, it's my absolute pleasure.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you. Have a great day.
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  Speaker 1: And that number if you were keen to call through
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  Speaker 1: eight nine four one one oh four nine. And how
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  Speaker 1: interesting an eighteen hour flight sounds like it's going to
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  Speaker 1: be a really interesting one. But then when you also
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  Speaker 1: look at all of those different locations where we have
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  Speaker 1: received flights from as part of these repatriation flights bringing
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  Speaker 1: ossies back to the Northern Territory and then off to
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  Speaker 1: wherever they are from originally. But yeah, really interesting stuff there.