It is 12.51pm on February 22, 2013. Qantas’ daily B737-800 flight from Sydney is on its final approach into New Zealand’s Christchurch International Airport (CHC).
Other than those returning home to New Zealand, most passengers on board are probably unaware that two years ago, to the minute, a devastating earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, struck their intended destination. It was the worst natural disaster to hit the country in 80 years.
Twelve months later, New Zealand stood still, observing a two-minute silence to remember those who lost their lives that day. Prime Minister John Key said the tremor had “changed everything” but had not broken the city’s spirit. That message holds true, particularly at CHC, where despite the obvious tragedy, they can see a silver lining to what was a very dark cloud.
“Long-term there is confidence that we’ll rebound, on the back of huge re-investment being made in the city and the chance to rebuild a city, a chance most others don’t get in a lifetime,” says Matthew Findlay, Christchurch Airport’s general manager for aeronautical business development.
“It will be a very modern city for the 21st century and is already being mentioned as one of the top cities to visit. This was a one in 2,000-year event – Christchurch was not known before this event to have any seismic risk.”
Earthquakes are, in some respects, the worst of the natural disasters, because, unlike a hurricane or a flood, a quake has an initial tremor, followed by a series of smaller shocks. It makes recovery for an airport all the more difficult, because of the continued uncertainty.
From its peak, in July 2010, before the earthquake, the airport has since lost 8.8% of its total traffic, or around 500,000 passengers, handling 5.4 million in 2012. While Christchurch’s traffic did suffer as a result of the earthquake, Findlay adds that the natural disaster was not the only cause.
“Our peak month was actually six months before the first quake, so you could say the effects of the global financial crisis were starting to have an effect at that time, even before the first quake.
“Certainly, Auckland lost Aerolíneas from Ezeiza International Airport and Qantas from LAX during the same period, so you could say changing aviation markets have had an effect, greater than the circumstances faced by CHC.
“Certainly, compared to other markets during the global financial crisis in Europe and North America, we’ve not done too badly, all things considered.” A quarter of that lost traffic is international, with the remainder being domestic.
The airport’s main airlines are Air New Zealand, Air Pacific, Emirates, Jetstar, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Australia; and CHC has worked hard to add new destinations since the quake.
“Route development has some very long lead times, so we’re just starting to see some benefits of the work we’ve put in,” he adds.
“A first was to have Singapore Airlines operate daily year-round services to CHC. In each northern hemisphere summer season in the past, the service would reduce to five weekly services.
“In addition, Air New Zealand launched a seasonal Mount Cook/Aoraki service. That is a scenic flight to our highest peak and on every visiting international guest’s must-see list.
“Air New Zealand also recommenced the northern hemisphere winter season direct service between Narita and CHC, and in addition, had the confidence in the Japanese market to sell six charters from Nagoya to CHC.
“We’ve also had a lift in frequencies on core domestic routes, as demand for labour and skilled professionals are needed to assist with the rebuild of the region.”
There was, however, no rebuilding required at the airport, which was already constructing its new terminal when the quake hit. Christchurch’s new integrated terminal will be officially opened on April 18 this year. A four-year build saw the entire 1960s terminal demolished in stages and New Zealand’s only long-haul integrated air passenger terminal facility built while the airport kept operating.
Close to 44 million people passed through the airport while the terminal was being built and, despite the earthquake, Findlay says the facility will be delivered “within a whisker of the budget” and only slightly behind schedule.
Commendably, CHC lost just one route following the earthquake, but Findlay says that even this was not down to the disaster itself, as the carrier, AirAsia X, started a Kuala Lumpur–Christchurch service five weeks later.
“We did lose some frequencies, notably across the Tasman as demand initially shrank because of the lack of hotel capacity,” he adds.
So how has Christchurch worked to build up its traffic in the two years since the earthquake?
“We work hand-in-glove with the regional tourism authority, Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism (CCT), which for the first time will attend Routes Asia in Mumbai. In fact, they share an office with us, assist with joint funding and we have partnered with them in some very large campaigns. CCT do some great work so it’s no surprise we’ve been voted by Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 cities to visit in 2013.
“We’ve made a concerted effort to focus on the core markets and those we can grow considerably in supporting new or increased frequencies. We’re playing to our strengths and making inroads into markets where we’ve been absent in the past.
“Importantly, the New Zealand Government has shown support for our efforts by putting a new transport policy in place which offers Open Skies over Christchurch until mid-2017. It is a particularly insightful gesture towards assisting the region in its recovery. There has never been a better time for airlines to work with us.”
Christchurch is, of course, not the only airport to have been affected by natural disaster. Sendai too is gradually adding new routes since the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The airport was closed for more than a month, following the natural disaster in March 2011. Hawaiian Airways is the latest carrier to announce flights to the destination.
“We are delighted to be bringing ‘the aloha’ of our island home to a region being rebuilt after massive devastation two years ago,” says Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s CEO. “We have been interested in providing service to Honolulu from Sendai for some time. The city’s airport draws travellers from throughout the Tohoku region, and its peak travel periods complement those of Sapporo to the north.”
Lambert-St Louis International Airport is another to have been hit by natural disaster – the region’s worst tornado for nearly half a century. While the Christchurch gateway suffered no structural damage, the impact of a tornado on Friday, April 22, 2011, in Missouri, USA, was more immediate on Lambert-St Louis International Airport.
The twister tore straight through the airport. Damage included downed power lines, trees, sign structures and hundreds of vehicles before it hit the terminal. “Even after suffering this type of damage, the airport was fortunate that there were only five people treated for minor injuries,” explains Jeff Lea, public relations manager for the airport.
“The storm caused extensive damage to some jetways, some planes that were parked at the gates and airfield vehicles. The airfield was closed shortly after the tornado passed because of extensive debris that littered the ramp, runways and taxiways.”
Lambert-St Louis’ emergency response was successful in clearing the airfield so it could be operational by the next morning.
The first inbound flights arrived on the next day, April 23, between 8pm and midnight, and by the Sunday, April 24, the majority of Lambert’s airlines had resumed service.
“There was approximately $25 million in restoration projects that included the restoration of the C Concourse, replacement of Terminal 1 windows, exterior lighting, exterior signage, and all other damages to non-terminal buildings,” adds Lea.
Surprisingly, Lambert’s traffic actually grew in the wake of the tornado – enplanements increased by 1.7%.
“There was no impact on the enplanement because of the tornado,” says Lea. “The airport grew its enplanements because Lambert has a strong OD market, the addition of a few additional flights from the airport’s top airline (Southwest) and because of a general upturn in the economy.”
Again, as in the case of Christchurch, it seems the storm clouds had a silver lining.
“The tornado was a great story for Lambert and this community,” he adds. “The airport was in the spotlight nationally and internationally during the first few days of the disaster and the fact that we resumed outbound flights within 36 hours was a great success story touted by local and national media.”
Back at Christchurch, Qantas’ B737-800 lands at an airport which is feeling decidedly upbeat about its future.
“There is definitely an air of positivity,” says Findlay. “There is even a term invented to measure the ongoing economic recovery here – the Cantometer [named after the Canterbury region of New Zealand].
“While we’re two years on from the February 22 quake, we’re now at the ‘bottom of the hockey stick’ and we are very optimistic about the future. The world’s second largest insured natural disaster has created a large opportunity and a forward-looking prospect of good times to come.”
This article features in Routes News 2013 Issue 2
New beginnings
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