Wirraway
6th Feb 2005, 15:55
Mon "Dominion Post"
Five-day fog rare for Wellington
07 February 2005
By HANK SCHOUTEN
Five back-to-back days of sea fog that blanketed Wellington Airport last week caused one of the worst disruptions to New Zealand airline networks.
The fog – generated by a large slow moving mass of warm humid tropical air drifting over a cool sea – was a rare phenomenon, said MetService forecaster Mark Pascoe. It was more likely to happen in March than February and generally it did not hang around as long. It was rare for Wellington to have such a run of almost windless days.
Wellington Airport duty manager Stephen Rybinski believed it was the longest fog disruption the airport had ever had.
And Mike Tod, a spokesman for Air New Zealand – the biggest user of Wellington Airport – said the fog had caused the biggest disruption to the airline's network in years. It affected about 500 flights and at least 10,000 passengers. Of those, Mr Tod estimated 1500 passengers had been bussed to Wellington from Palmerston North.
The disruption started at 6.30pm on Tuesday. The airport was closed for much of Wednesday and Thursday, but able to open for three to four hours on Friday, and again on Saturday afternoon.
Large numbers of people flying in for the International Sevens tournament managed to get in by bus from Palmerston North. Quite a few international flights managed to get in and get out, generally coming in late in the day and out again the following morning.
Backlogs were cleared on Friday and Saturday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNo information was available yesterday from Qantas on how many of their flights and passengers were affected.
Vincent Aviation managing director Peter Vincent said that having Paraparaumu as an alternate airport had been useful for passengers who knew that even if they couldn't fly into Wellington, they could at least land an hour's drive away.
Mr Vincent said there was nothing practical that could be done to reduce the impact of fog on Wellington airport operations. While auto-landing systems were widely used throughout Europe to allow airlines to keep flying in these sorts of conditions, auto-landings were not a realistic option for Wellington.
They were hugely expensive, requiring a big investment in ground equipment, extra systems on aircraft and pilot training. And, the runway was too short – airports using auto-landing systems had to have much longer runways.
Airways Corporation spokesman Ken Mitchell agreed auto landing systems were expensive.
The aids now in use at New Zealand airports were appropriate for local flying conditions and Wellington's fog was a rare event.
The fog even affected Wellington's Westpac rescue helicopter service.
On Friday night a man rescue after having a seizure while swimming in Titahi Bay had to be relayed by ambulance from Wellington Airport because thick fog prevented a rooftop landing at the hospital.
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Mon "The Press' NZ
Fleeing the cyclone
07 February 2005
Hundreds of foreign tourists were evacuated from the Cook Islands before Cyclone Meena bore down on the tiny island nation last night.
Many New Zealanders and other foreign tourists managed to get out of the Cook Islands as the country braced for a tropical cyclone packing winds which were forecast to reach 260kmh today.
However, another 230 who had expected to leave late last night on an extra Air New Zealand jet were stuck on Rarotonga after the flight was cancelled.
A cyclone warning was in place for the tiny Cook Islands – 15 small islands with a total land area of just 240sq km and a population of about 21,000.
Rarotonga, the main island, was predicted to bear the brunt of Cyclone Meena, according to the Fiji Meteorological Service.
"Average speeds of 100 knots (180kmh) or more with momentary gusts of 145 knots or more from later tonight," the service's website said last night.
"Frequent heavy rain with squally thunderstorms, phenomenal seas, damaging heavy swells, flooding including sea flooding of coastal areas."
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe New Zealand High Commission is in Rarotonga's main town of Avarua.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand said the High Commission had phoned around the country's tourist resorts and found there were "minimal" numbers of New Zealanders holidaying there.
"A lot of tourists left for New Zealand this morning on a very full Air New Zealand flight," the spokeswoman said.
However, Air New Zealand later advised that another flight scheduled to leave Rarotonga at 10pm (NZ time) had been cancelled because the weather had closed in quicker than expected.
The extra 767-300 flight, capable of carrying 230 passengers had been scheduled to leave Rarotonga for Auckland.
Before it was cancelled, Air New Zealand spokesman Mike Tod said he expected it was likely to have been fully booked with people wanting to get out before the cyclone arrived.
A flight to Rarotonga scheduled for today would be reviewed today.
The Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said those New Zealanders still in the Cook Islands were being looked after by their hotels.
If necessary, they were being shifted to safer accommodation.
Local authorities were expecting winds above 130 knots in the early hours of this morning.
"The telecommunications tower is going to be taken down by 11pm (midnight NZ time) so from then on there won't be any communication," the spokeswoman said.
"Indications are at this stage that the cyclone will be stronger than Cyclone Sally which hit the Cooks a few years ago (on January 1, 1987)."
Winds close to the eye of Meena were estimated at 230kmh last night, giving it a severity rating of four, one level short of the maximum.
Huge seas were expected to cause flooding in coastal areas of the Cook Islands, the Tuatua Akakite website said.
Forecasters have warned of damaging gale-force winds over northern parts of the southern Cook Islands in the next 24 to 36 hours.
A spokesman at the Aitutaiki Lagoon Resort told Radio New Zealand that residents were calm but the resort had been boarded up, about 300 tourists evacuated and flights cancelled.
The Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said NZ Aid would be monitoring the situation to see if any help was needed in the aftermath of Cyclone Meena.
John Short, part owner of Vai Villas – a small accommodation and wedding venue – said the cyclone was more of "a nuisance" than a concern.
Last night he said his two villas had guests who were not planning to leave.
Storm shutters had been erected over any large windows.
"Most motels have pre-made shutters for when there is a hurricane or cyclone. It is part of the insurance policy," Short said.
"We're really not worried. It's a nuisance – tomorrow we have to get the rake out and clear all the rubbish off the lawn."
Short said February was one of the busiest times of the year for tourists.
=========================================
Five-day fog rare for Wellington
07 February 2005
By HANK SCHOUTEN
Five back-to-back days of sea fog that blanketed Wellington Airport last week caused one of the worst disruptions to New Zealand airline networks.
The fog – generated by a large slow moving mass of warm humid tropical air drifting over a cool sea – was a rare phenomenon, said MetService forecaster Mark Pascoe. It was more likely to happen in March than February and generally it did not hang around as long. It was rare for Wellington to have such a run of almost windless days.
Wellington Airport duty manager Stephen Rybinski believed it was the longest fog disruption the airport had ever had.
And Mike Tod, a spokesman for Air New Zealand – the biggest user of Wellington Airport – said the fog had caused the biggest disruption to the airline's network in years. It affected about 500 flights and at least 10,000 passengers. Of those, Mr Tod estimated 1500 passengers had been bussed to Wellington from Palmerston North.
The disruption started at 6.30pm on Tuesday. The airport was closed for much of Wednesday and Thursday, but able to open for three to four hours on Friday, and again on Saturday afternoon.
Large numbers of people flying in for the International Sevens tournament managed to get in by bus from Palmerston North. Quite a few international flights managed to get in and get out, generally coming in late in the day and out again the following morning.
Backlogs were cleared on Friday and Saturday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNo information was available yesterday from Qantas on how many of their flights and passengers were affected.
Vincent Aviation managing director Peter Vincent said that having Paraparaumu as an alternate airport had been useful for passengers who knew that even if they couldn't fly into Wellington, they could at least land an hour's drive away.
Mr Vincent said there was nothing practical that could be done to reduce the impact of fog on Wellington airport operations. While auto-landing systems were widely used throughout Europe to allow airlines to keep flying in these sorts of conditions, auto-landings were not a realistic option for Wellington.
They were hugely expensive, requiring a big investment in ground equipment, extra systems on aircraft and pilot training. And, the runway was too short – airports using auto-landing systems had to have much longer runways.
Airways Corporation spokesman Ken Mitchell agreed auto landing systems were expensive.
The aids now in use at New Zealand airports were appropriate for local flying conditions and Wellington's fog was a rare event.
The fog even affected Wellington's Westpac rescue helicopter service.
On Friday night a man rescue after having a seizure while swimming in Titahi Bay had to be relayed by ambulance from Wellington Airport because thick fog prevented a rooftop landing at the hospital.
========================================
Mon "The Press' NZ
Fleeing the cyclone
07 February 2005
Hundreds of foreign tourists were evacuated from the Cook Islands before Cyclone Meena bore down on the tiny island nation last night.
Many New Zealanders and other foreign tourists managed to get out of the Cook Islands as the country braced for a tropical cyclone packing winds which were forecast to reach 260kmh today.
However, another 230 who had expected to leave late last night on an extra Air New Zealand jet were stuck on Rarotonga after the flight was cancelled.
A cyclone warning was in place for the tiny Cook Islands – 15 small islands with a total land area of just 240sq km and a population of about 21,000.
Rarotonga, the main island, was predicted to bear the brunt of Cyclone Meena, according to the Fiji Meteorological Service.
"Average speeds of 100 knots (180kmh) or more with momentary gusts of 145 knots or more from later tonight," the service's website said last night.
"Frequent heavy rain with squally thunderstorms, phenomenal seas, damaging heavy swells, flooding including sea flooding of coastal areas."
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe New Zealand High Commission is in Rarotonga's main town of Avarua.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand said the High Commission had phoned around the country's tourist resorts and found there were "minimal" numbers of New Zealanders holidaying there.
"A lot of tourists left for New Zealand this morning on a very full Air New Zealand flight," the spokeswoman said.
However, Air New Zealand later advised that another flight scheduled to leave Rarotonga at 10pm (NZ time) had been cancelled because the weather had closed in quicker than expected.
The extra 767-300 flight, capable of carrying 230 passengers had been scheduled to leave Rarotonga for Auckland.
Before it was cancelled, Air New Zealand spokesman Mike Tod said he expected it was likely to have been fully booked with people wanting to get out before the cyclone arrived.
A flight to Rarotonga scheduled for today would be reviewed today.
The Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said those New Zealanders still in the Cook Islands were being looked after by their hotels.
If necessary, they were being shifted to safer accommodation.
Local authorities were expecting winds above 130 knots in the early hours of this morning.
"The telecommunications tower is going to be taken down by 11pm (midnight NZ time) so from then on there won't be any communication," the spokeswoman said.
"Indications are at this stage that the cyclone will be stronger than Cyclone Sally which hit the Cooks a few years ago (on January 1, 1987)."
Winds close to the eye of Meena were estimated at 230kmh last night, giving it a severity rating of four, one level short of the maximum.
Huge seas were expected to cause flooding in coastal areas of the Cook Islands, the Tuatua Akakite website said.
Forecasters have warned of damaging gale-force winds over northern parts of the southern Cook Islands in the next 24 to 36 hours.
A spokesman at the Aitutaiki Lagoon Resort told Radio New Zealand that residents were calm but the resort had been boarded up, about 300 tourists evacuated and flights cancelled.
The Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said NZ Aid would be monitoring the situation to see if any help was needed in the aftermath of Cyclone Meena.
John Short, part owner of Vai Villas – a small accommodation and wedding venue – said the cyclone was more of "a nuisance" than a concern.
Last night he said his two villas had guests who were not planning to leave.
Storm shutters had been erected over any large windows.
"Most motels have pre-made shutters for when there is a hurricane or cyclone. It is part of the insurance policy," Short said.
"We're really not worried. It's a nuisance – tomorrow we have to get the rake out and clear all the rubbish off the lawn."
Short said February was one of the busiest times of the year for tourists.
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