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Speaker 1: Now it is that time of the year when many

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Speaker 1: of us are about to embark on holidays to catch

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Speaker 1: up with family and friends for Christmas. It's no doubt

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Speaker 1: going to be a busy time at the airport for

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Speaker 1: those opting to fly and joining us on the line

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Speaker 1: right now for some advice on what to expect during

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Speaker 1: the peak period is Rob Porter, who is the Darwin

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Speaker 1: International Airport Executive general Manager. Good morning to you, Rob.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Coatie.

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Speaker 1: How are you very well? How are you? Is it

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Speaker 1: absolutely pumping at the airport today?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's one of the busiest days for the aviation

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Speaker 2: industry and certainly certainly airports. So yeah, we've done our

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Speaker 2: stretches and we're all ready to go. Love it.

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Speaker 1: I did hear that certainly being reported nationally this morning

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Speaker 1: as well. They were saying that today is the busiest

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Speaker 1: day of the year. Is that the case for us

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Speaker 1: here in Darwin?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? In fact, you know what for darn when we're

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Speaker 2: expecting a very busy period over the next three weeks.

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Speaker 2: So we're speaking, Katie about one hundred thousand passengers to

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Speaker 2: travel through the airports, our airports, so Allison Darwin over

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Speaker 2: the next three weeks and up to sixty flights a day,

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Speaker 2: so it's a whole hands for the wheel and we

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Speaker 2: just want to make sure we can do our best

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Speaker 2: to ensure that everyone gets away on their holiday.

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Speaker 1: Wow, they are massive numbers. I mean, is this really

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Speaker 1: the first time? Do you think that we're really going

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Speaker 1: to see those numbers reach that peak of what we'd

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Speaker 1: seen pre COVID or did we get there last year?

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Speaker 2: Well, we didn't quite get there last year. I think,

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Speaker 2: you know, I think this year it's it's a different, different,

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Speaker 2: different kettle of fish. But yeah, look we're braking ourselves.

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Speaker 2: I reckon about six thousand passengers moving through the terminal,

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Speaker 2: so busy, busy than other years. Well, you know, maybe,

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Speaker 2: but you know, we're in a whole new world today.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Rob, what's the advice for people that are going

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Speaker 1: to be traveling over the next you know, the next

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Speaker 1: week or so or the next few weeks in terms

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Speaker 1: of making sure that they're organized and things go smoothly.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think there's a couple of tips that I

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Speaker 2: normally do, and just making sure that my carry on

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Speaker 2: the right side and the right weights, so making sure

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Speaker 2: I've got that checked in all right, check in your bags,

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Speaker 2: you come at the prescribed time, you know, sixty minutes

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Speaker 2: before your flight. The new automatic bag drop system and

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Speaker 2: the Kios systems working really well for us, so you know,

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Speaker 2: we're seeing that move fairly quickly, and there's people always

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Speaker 2: floating around to give you a hand if you're not

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Speaker 2: too sure about how to operate the chaos. But we're

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Speaker 2: seeing that really speed up. But yeah, for me, I

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Speaker 2: was just keep an eye on the airline, just making

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Speaker 2: sure that my flight's on time, and just stay in

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Speaker 2: touch with them. You can visit our Facebook side or

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Speaker 2: our website and you can see you know, the departure

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Speaker 2: and arrival times there as well. So that's what I

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Speaker 2: kind of do, and that would be what my tip

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Speaker 2: to be. We'll get to here early and yeah, just

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Speaker 2: just be really really patient because it is going to

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Speaker 2: be very busy.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, there have been a number of upgrades underway out there.

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Speaker 1: Are they all sort of do you anticipate that, you know?

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Speaker 1: Or is there anything that people need to be aware of,

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Speaker 1: I guess in terms of those upgrades or are things

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Speaker 1: inside pretty well complete?

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Speaker 2: No, Look, it's still still still a bit of a

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Speaker 2: mess inside. However, the check in process of the ABDS

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Speaker 2: the bag drops and the keios. They're all fully operational.

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Speaker 2: This morning we opened a food screening lane so that

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Speaker 2: the screening point has got plenty of capacity to push

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Speaker 2: people through. Upstairs, the Northern Common, the new the new

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Speaker 2: food and beverage outlet, you know, they're ready to go.

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Speaker 2: We've got burgers to deep up there as well in

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Speaker 2: top end burgers, and we've got the aging kitchen so

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Speaker 2: that that your food needs will be looked after. It'll

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Speaker 2: be a little bit squishy up there because there's certainly

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Speaker 2: sections that are you know, sort of hoarded off for

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Speaker 2: now while before we build the new restaurants in the background.

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Speaker 2: But I think we've got enough of the new stuff

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Speaker 2: ready to go for our big rush.

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Speaker 1: And are there any changes or anything when it comes

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Speaker 1: to using ride share or drop offs or pick ups

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Speaker 1: that people need to be aware of.

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Speaker 2: No, we kept that pretty steady through Christmas. So there

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Speaker 2: has been some car park work and people have noticed

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Speaker 2: that there's some covers going over the car park, which

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Speaker 2: is which is pretty exciting, so that that has been

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Speaker 2: a little bit tight in the short term car park

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Speaker 2: where we've we've opened the fence or open some gates

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Speaker 2: here to create some more space. Yeah, but we'll just

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Speaker 2: mindful of this Christmas period that some of the work,

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Speaker 2: all the works is just pretty well on hold so

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Speaker 2: we can get through this busy rush and then we're

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Speaker 2: we're ready to rip back in again next year.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. And then what about with the with the runway upgrades,

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Speaker 1: is that all sort of on hold at this point

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Speaker 1: in time as well or wrapped up for the year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So the team have wrapped up the runway works,

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Speaker 2: so we've got our full operating runway length ready to go.

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Speaker 2: That was handed back to us yesterday, so ready for

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Speaker 2: ready for the Christmas peak. So tick runways ready to

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Speaker 2: go for Christmas. The team will be back in the

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Speaker 2: new year to complete that works and looking forward to

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Speaker 2: seeing the end of that, I can tell you yes.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, we're as ready as we possibly can to

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Speaker 2: make sure that we can get everyone away for Christmas.

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Speaker 2: And you know, we've got a couple of new airlines

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Speaker 2: this year, which is which is really exciting with Nexus

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Speaker 2: and bondser so some some pretty cool stuff leading into

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Speaker 2: our fisted season.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Hey, before I let you go, one last one,

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Speaker 1: anything that people should keep in mind when it comes

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Speaker 1: to severe weather, because we are sort of seeing a

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Speaker 1: bit of uncertainty, and we're going to catch up with

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Speaker 1: the Bureau of Meteorology after eleven. But we're seeing a

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Speaker 1: bit of uncertainty, I guess, following on from X Tropical

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Speaker 1: Cyclone Jasper, and just quite a bit of wet weather

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Speaker 1: around the place.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I think we are definitely in for

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Speaker 2: a bit of wet jeez. I'm not sure which way

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Speaker 2: this weather is going to go with going to track

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Speaker 2: away for us or head hovering in the Gulf. Not

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Speaker 2: really sure, but again, just taking my advice. Checking with

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Speaker 2: your airline just to see if your flights on time

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Speaker 2: one of their websites, one to the Facebook sites and

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Speaker 2: they'll give you a pretty good indication of how things

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Speaker 2: are tracking.

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Speaker 1: Very good advice. Well, Rob Porter, have yourself a lovely Christmas,

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Speaker 1: and thank you very much for having a chat with

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Speaker 1: us on the show this morning. And no doubt we'll

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Speaker 1: talk to you in the new year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah for sure. Catie, thanks again and you take care

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Speaker 2: of the festiv you too.

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Speaker 1: Thanks mate.