The natural disaster that struck Asia at the end of 2004
also deeply affected Finns. More than 3,000 passengers arrived
in Finland from the disaster area via Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
during the first week. A series of emergency procedures
was initiated at the airport on December 27th when news
was received of the arrival of the first evacuation flight
from the region. The final evacuation flight was received
on January 3rd 2005.
A medical centre was set up at the airport which was visited
by more than 277 passengers during the week, while crisis
assistance and spiritual and psychological help was provided
for about 1,000 passengers. The Finnish Red Cross distributed
clothing for over 500 travellers, whilst a number of official
help desks were set up in the terminal.
More than 840 workers from 10 different organisations helped
with emergency relief at the airport. The Hospital District
of Helsinki and Uusimaa provided medical assistance while
the Vantaa crisis centre and church bodies worked in conjunction
with Red Cross volunteers to provide crisis aid and spiritual
counselling. Almost 100 staff from the CAA were involved
in the emergency work.
“We always aim to keep passengers in mind and to
provide them with the best possible service,” commented
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Manager Ari Tulensalo. ”Among
other things, we planned the aircraft parking slots and
passenger flows in the terminal so that people coming in
from the disaster area could move quickly and easily from
one advice and assistance point to another and finally on
to their families,” he said.
He believes the emergency measures performed superbly,
thanks to the commitment of the airport staff and the seamless
cooperation with the other organisations. The fact that
the crews at the airport knew each other well and had practised
regularly for crisis situations was also an indispensable
benefit, he said.
The emergency measures interfered little with the normal
workings of the airport during the week and the airport
continued to operate at the required safety standard throughout
the period.
