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Storm shuts airport

November 9th, 2009




DARWIN airport was forced to close early this morning after a severe thunderstorm hit the Top End.
A plane due to land at the airport just after midnight had to be rediverted to the Tindal Air Base in Katherine after the thunderstorm made conditions too dangerous for planes land at Darwin.
Passengers on board the Virgin Blue flight from Melbourne had to wait as their plane circled the airport for about thirty minutes.
The plane eventually had to fly south to Tindal at about 2am to refuel as it waited for Darwin Airport to reopen.
It waited on the tarmac for 90 minutes before being given the all clear to return to Darwin.
The plane finally arrived in Darwin just after 4am, more than three hours after its scheduled arrival time.
But the nightmare journey didn't end there for most passengers on board the flight with many forced to wait up to 30 minutes for a taxi.

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