On Christmas Eve 1974 Cyclone Tracy devastated the city of Darwin in northern Australia. It killed around 50 people and either destroyed or severely damaged 70% of the buildings in the city. All essential services such as communication, water, power were disabled and the threat of disease and starvation loomed. The government decided to act swiftly and ordered a mass evacation. Over the course of the following week in a combined effort by the Australian Air Force and national airlines almost 25,000 people were evacuated from Darwin.
During the airlift a Boeing 747-200 operated by Qantas set a new world record by transporting 673 passengers on a single flight from Darwin to Sydney. The passengers were mainly women and children (2 per seat in several cases). This record was eventually dwarfed by another jumbo jet.