Passengers on United Flight A863 must have wondered what they had done to anger the Gods of Air travel this week. They were on final approaches to Sydney International airport after a long haul flight from the United States when the plane was ordered to climb and circle. It seems the control tower had spotted debris on a runway and landings were not permitted for thirty-five minutes while an emergency crew took remedial action.
Closing a runway at Sydney's only International airport throws a spanner in the works of the carefully orchestrated plan of arrivals and departures that is always running close to capacity. Many aircraft were forced to hold in waiting patterns and some were diverted. Unfortunately, Flight A863 had insufficient fuel reserves to reach either Melbourne or Brisbane International airports, and it was directed to Canberra.
The two hundred odd passengers would not have believed what was in store for them. Canberra is not an International airport and it has no customs and immigration facilities. As a result, the passengers were ordered to remain in their seats on the airplane - for hours and hours. Sydney airport was again open and the Boeing 777 could be refuelled in Canberra, but the flight crew had exceeded their flying hours and it would be necessary to fly in a new crew to take the aircraft on the short thirty minute hop from Canberra back to Sydney.
Eventually - with the passengers on the point of a mutiny - it was agreed they could disembark and "stretch their legs ", but they could only do so on the open concrete area around the aircraft. With no cover from the sun or places to sit they were not allowed to use the transit lounge just a few metres away. Eventually, a food truck was organized and a service vehicle pumped out the plane's holding tanks for the toilets. It seems that was the extent of the "luxuries "that were to be permitted.
The Canberra landing happened about nine in the morning - and the weary passengers finally arrived back in Sydney at five in the afternoon - less than impressed with the service offered. Then the blame game started with a bout of finger pointing. Canberra claims that customs and immigration staff could have been brought to the airport and cleared passengers - if this had been requested - and paid for. Sydney airport was quick to point out that safety is always their prime concern - and debris on a runway can have catastrophic results, as evidenced by an incident in France when a tiny piece of metal that had fallen off another aircraft destroyed the Concorde and killed all aboard.
As always, it seems that the main cause of this debacle - is lack of communication between the various agencies involved. Everybody dusted off the rules book - and insisted on following protocol. It is quite possible that if asked, permission might have been granted for the flight crew to extend their flying time for that short hop to Sydney. It should have been possible to isolate a section of the Canberra terminal to house these stranded passengers and allow them a degree of comfort - and access to toilets and wash facilities. Was it really necessary to treat these incoming passengers as potential drug couriers ? Their luggage was safely locked away on the aircraft and the Canberra landing was a genuine emergency. Allowing them to mingle in the airport terminal was probably an acceptable risk - but no such decision was taken.
It certainly illustrates the necessity for a second Sydney International airport. Just a thirty minute runway closure can have a chaotic follow-on that throws schedules out of kilter, but then the heavy handed application of procedures comes into play - and what should be a minor irritant becomes world news that is definitely not good publicity for the Australian tourist industry.
We should live and learn from the debacle that happened to flight A863. All sorts of mishaps and weather events make airport diversions a fact of life. Mostly these diversions are between fully equipped city airports, but when circumstances involve a less equipped regional airport the procedures in place should not just fall apart. What happened in Canberra this week should not happen again.
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