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Speaker 1: The man who's in charge of operations inside the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory Airport joining us on the line. ANTI Airport's executive

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Speaker 1: General Manager of Operations, Peter Palette. Good morning to you, Peter.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Another interesting day it is, yes.

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Speaker 1: And I know that the DAN situation isn't in your area,

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Speaker 1: so we'll stick to the airport and stick to the

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Speaker 1: situation that's unfolding obviously with Sydney and the Northern Beaches hotspot.

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Speaker 1: What does that mean for you guys, Well.

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Speaker 2: I've got to say we've been preparing and getting our

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Speaker 2: systems better and better over the last several months, working

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Speaker 2: with our airline partners and working with Department of Health.

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Speaker 2: And one of the things that we've been able to

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Speaker 2: do is to smooth out the arrivals of the aircraft

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Speaker 2: working with the airlines, which means we don't whilst we're

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Speaker 2: ramping up for a very busy Christmas. We're spreading it

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Speaker 2: out over the and that's worked really quite nicely for

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Speaker 2: us now with this emerging issue coming out of the

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Speaker 2: Northern Beaches, so lots of people, less crowds with message.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Peter, were we do to have flights or I'm

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Speaker 1: assuming we are still do to have flights arriving from

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Speaker 1: Sydney today, what's the process in terms of making sure

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Speaker 1: that those who've come from the northern beaches going to quarantine.

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Speaker 2: So the process is pretty much going back to what

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Speaker 2: we were doing just two or three days ago, where

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Speaker 2: all of the passengers will go through a screening process

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Speaker 2: by a Department of health the lovely people up there,

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Speaker 2: and then they'll flow through. Those who've been in the

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Speaker 2: hotspots will be dealt with, I assume as per usual.

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Speaker 2: But the important thing for those of us who are

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Speaker 2: expecting people up from down south, please make sure they

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Speaker 2: fill out their electronic border pass That'll make life so

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Speaker 2: much easier and help keep and through the system much quicker.

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Speaker 1: Peter, how many flights have we got arriving from Sydney today?

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Speaker 2: So it only three today and as we build up,

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Speaker 2: Monday is our busiest day. We've got forty four flights

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Speaker 2: in total on Monday, about two and a half thousand

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Speaker 2: people flowing through the terminal on Monday. And well, I

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Speaker 2: guess we'll, like everybody else, wait and see how things

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Speaker 2: pound out.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and Peter, how does that compare sort of capacity

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Speaker 1: wise to what a normal Christmas it would be.

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Speaker 2: So we were running at about seventy percent of what

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Speaker 2: we were doing last year, and if you remember, there

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Speaker 2: were sort of peaks and troughs through the day. We

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Speaker 2: were really crowded one moment and empty the next. We're

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Speaker 2: actually much better off this year where they're staggered pretty

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Speaker 2: much at forty five minute intervals through the day, which

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Speaker 2: is make life really comfortable for us.

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Speaker 1: Has that sort of been a real in a real

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Speaker 1: kind of policy setting by the NT airports and also

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Speaker 1: by the airlines to make sure that those flights are

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Speaker 1: better sort of separated time wise.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is. It's a structural change to the

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Speaker 2: way that we operate, and it has been with the

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Speaker 2: fabulous cooperation of all of the airline partners as we

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Speaker 2: try and make sure that people are as safe as

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Speaker 2: they possibly can be as they travel around the country.

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Speaker 1: And Peter, I know some might think it's a little

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Speaker 1: bit of a trivial question to ask, but I'm sure

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Speaker 1: there'll be people wondering whether the cafes and the food

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Speaker 1: outlets and things are opened at the airport as well

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Speaker 1: if they're maybe you know, rushing to get to the

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Speaker 1: airport after work and to get onto a flight, whether

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Speaker 1: they're going to be able to eat.

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Speaker 2: Beforehand, Yes, certainly all of the well sorry, most of

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Speaker 2: the shops are now opened. We opened another two in

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Speaker 2: the last two weeks, so you can get something to

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Speaker 2: eat and drink before you before you depart and whilst

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Speaker 2: you're waiting for somebody. Certainly those facilities are available. And again,

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Speaker 2: for I guess our advice is please just be understanding

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Speaker 2: of the processes and just make sure that you're kind

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Speaker 2: to each other as you go through.

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Speaker 1: And Peter, does how do things change on Christmas Eve

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Speaker 1: when you're waiting for Santa to arrive? Do the flights

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Speaker 1: do other flights have to be diverted?

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Speaker 2: Oh? Look, we make sure that Santa's got a really

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Speaker 2: clear run at the airport. We've made sure that he's

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Speaker 2: got his own bay. We'll make sure there's carrots and

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Speaker 2: mangoes and all of the things that those reindeer will

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Speaker 2: really love to have, so he can get about his

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Speaker 2: duties here in Darwin. And hopefully the thunderstorms stay away

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Speaker 2: that night and so he doesn't have to dodge that lightning.

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Speaker 1: I reckon you might want to have a nice cold

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Speaker 1: beer there for him as well. Just in case there's

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Speaker 1: lightning around to calm his nerves a little.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, I'm not sure whether he's a beer man

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Speaker 2: or a luxamn, so it'll be interesting.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure you'll have it all prepared, Peter, and I

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Speaker 1: know that all the kids listening this morning will be

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Speaker 1: so very pleased to hear that.

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Speaker 2: We'll be doing our best. We'll be out there getting

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Speaker 2: things ready so that it's a smoother rival into Darwin

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Speaker 2: on Christmas Eve.

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Speaker 1: Good on you, Peter, Thank you so very much for

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Speaker 1: your time this morning. Have a lovely Christmas.

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Speaker 2: Katie, the same to you and all of you listening.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. That is the general manager there of operations,

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Speaker 1: Peter Pallette at the Northern Territory Airport. And I tell

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Speaker 1: you what lucky. Everything is nice and organized for Santa's

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Speaker 1: arrival on Christmas Eve. They make sure that they divert

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Speaker 1: the other planes so that there's you know that things

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Speaker 1: are nice and smooth for him and his reindeer, which

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Speaker 1: I know all the kids listening this morning are going

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Speaker 1: to be really pleased to hear