12 | Hawke’s Bay: Hawke’s Bay Airport REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT T T Richard Loader Airport proves safe haven in storm A Hercules delivers supplies at Hawke’s Bay airport in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. In the early hours of Tuesday morning on the 15th of February this year, Hawke’s Bay lost power. At the same time, the emergency generator at Hawke’s Bay Airport was activated, delivering a critical lifeline to a community suffering from Cyclone Gabrielle and all the misery it would despatch over the following days. On that first day, a state of emergency was declared. All commercial Air New Zealand flights to and from Hawke’s Bay Airport were cancelled but the airport remained operational for the multitude of helicopters flying search and rescue missions. Some people were airlifted from flood and other affected areas and delivered to the safety and warmth of the airport. RNZAF’s Hercules arrived, and the Royal Australian Airforce sent two Spartan baby Hercules aircraft to assist with operations. While Hawke’s Bay Airport, Civil Defence, airport tenants and other organisations involved in that emergency played a vital role from the runway, what happened in the terminal was perhaps unexpected. When the airport’s power generators kicked in at 7.30am, Hawke’s Bay Airport became a beacon for the surrounding community, providing a safe haven complete with power, wifi, and shelter. No one outside of the airport had power, or wifi to connect with the outside world, and while there was no way for the airport to let people know that they could come to the airport and use the facilities — they just seemed to know, and come they did. HBAL’s Business Development Manager Judi Godbold says that while the Tuesday was very much focused on the search and rescue effort, with some locals coming into the terminal, by the end of Wednesday 1600 people had connected to the wifi throughout the day, with 600 at its peak. “People were also coming in with multi-boards, sitting next to power points throughout the airport and charging up their devices. Air New Zealand ground staff were incredible, not worrying about people sitting all around pillars, plugging into power points, using the airport as a lifeline. “The terminal would close at 8.00pm, and there would still be people sitting outside using wifi. They used every means they had to get connectivity, and we understood that. Thursday was the first day the café could reopen and after three days without a flat white there were people queuing twenty deep to get one, and it remained that way all day.” For the three days following the cyclone the Airport made the car park available to the public without charge. Judi says that after everything people had gone through with property damage, lost connection with friends and relatives, or even lost loved ones, they could freely drive into the airport and feel welcome. “I don’t think anyone ever expected what happened in the terminal. If the airport and its wifi was not there, there would have been thousands of people unable to connect with loved ones outside of Hawke’s Bay.” “I don’t think anyone ever expected what happened in the terminal. If the airport and its wifi was not there, there would have been thousands of people unable to connect with loved ones outside of Hawke’s Bay. What came out of all this was the phycological first aid following a terrible event, with people sharing their experience with others. Strangers talking to strangers about what happened to them, and for many people that was cathartic. “We didn’t create that; it was just the circumstances and the safe haven environment that allowed people to get the events off their chests with someone they didn’t necessarily know.” From the extremes of adversity and human suffering, just maybe friendships evolved from kindness, shared experiences and perhaps a flat white at Bay Espresso. Judi says one of the airport’s key learnings to come out of the cyclone is the need to push for a second entrance to the airport, so that if the airport is used as a lifeline utility again the public can use one entrance, while the other entrance can be reserved for emergency service vehicles. “We have put a proposal to the Regional Transport Committee for a second roundabout further up the state highway.”
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