The closure of Cairns airport became a planned event. The pilot advised ATC of his undercarriage problem. Given his fuel remaining, the pilot agreed to hold until the majors had their jets on the ground. All inbound aircraft were advised of planned closure time - with ample time to proceed elsewhere. The anticipated closure was "at least 30 mins". The actual time was 30 minutes. Runway 12 was reopened inside this time.
One aircraft held for about 10 mins, about 4 or 5 lighties diverted to Mareeba or Cooktown
Seems like a pretty well managed situation to me.
