With Only One Runway, Kathmandu's Airport Hinders Earthquake Relief
There's a lot of aid headed toward Nepal, but it's not getting there as fast as people would like.
The reason: There aren't enough runways.
The country's only international airport is Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. It's tiny. It has just one runway. So it can't accommodate all the planes flying in.
The single runway has been closed several times for earthquake repairs. Also, there are limited places for planes to park. On many days, pilots circled for hours waiting for another plane to take off because there's no room to land.
This bottleneck has slowed the recovery effort. A terminal duty officer, who wouldn't give his name because he's not allowed to talk to the media, says the situation is bad: "We have not allowed any person from the media to get in or report on the issue. It is a mess here. Why should we talk to the media? We have not been able to settle anything."
That's not the only obstacle to relief work. Some groups show up and don't know what to do or where to go. Or how to get there.
"Even where there was no disaster here, it was just really difficult to get around," says Lisa Rudolph, an American Red Cross worker who arrived from Washington, D.C. "Even within Kathmandu itself it can take an hour to get from one point to another. And so now with roads blocked [due to earthquake damage and] the airport congested, it's going to be really difficult."
At the Humanitarian Staging Area set up by the airport, you can see how little there is to work with. The massive storage tents set up to hold all the donated supplies are almost empty.
Sagar Mani Parajuli is joint secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is coordinating Nepal's relief efforts. He runs through a list of what's needed: "Tent first and then dry foods. Like noodles, biscuits."
How can his country recover, he asks, from the worst earthquake to hit the region in more than 80 years when they simply don't have what they need?
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Transcript
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
It has the feel of a miracle. In Nepal, rescue crews pulled a survivor from the rubble today five days after the deadly earthquake. Plucked from the debris, a 15-year-old boy shown in videos looking dirty and very tired. Aid continues to flow into the country, though not as fast as people would like. One challenge is Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu. As NPR's Russell Lewis reports, it's tiny and cannot accommodate all the planes flying in.
RUSSELL LEWIS, BYLINE: Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport was bustling this morning.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORNS)
LEWIS: Cars streamed in to pick up those who just arrived. Most of them are aid workers. Several people from the Norwegian Red Cross were loading a van with big, metal trunks. They're filled with medical supplies that they plan to take to a small town about three hours away. Haavaard Gngsaas says the earthquake destroyed many homes and damaged the town's medical facility.
HAAVAARD GNGSAAS: We are supposed to build a field hospital to give a hand to the local hospital. That's our job.
LEWIS: Not far away, Anna Tyszkiewicz was coordinating her team from the Leger Foundation. She's just arrived from Montreal, Canada, and was sorting out how to join up with her partner organization that's been in Nepal for a few days.
ANNA TYSZKIEWICZ: We're going to be distributing water filters and installing rain fresh units in people's houses and things like that.
LEWIS: One thing complicating the relief effort is some groups show up and don't know what to do or where to go to provide help. Lisa Rudolph had just landed from Washington, D.C. She's with the American Red Cross, and logistics are their biggest concern.
LISA RUDOLPH: Even when there wasn't disaster here, there were - I mean, it's just really difficult to get around. Even within Kathmandu itself, it would take an hour to get from one point to another. And so now with roads blocked and the airport really congested and flying in relief goods, it's, I think, going to be really difficult.
LEWIS: Getting those goods into the country has been problematic. The airport has just a single runway, which has closed several times for earthquake repairs. Also there are limited places for planes to park. So many days, pilots circled for hours waiting for another plane to take off because there's just no room. This has slowed the recovery effort. A terminal duty officer, who wouldn't give his name because he's not allowed to talk to the media, says the situation is bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Foreign language spoken).
LEWIS: "They have not allowed any person from the media to get in and report on this issue," he says. "It's a mess here. We have not been able to settle anything." You can see the problems on the other side of the airport at the Humanitarian Staging Area.
(SOUNDBITE OF TRACTOR)
LEWIS: Tractors pull in and drop off supplies.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Foreign language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: (Foreign language spoken).
LEWIS: Members of Nepal's military load up a truck with hundreds of small donated tents. There were also some stocks of bottled water and dry food, but these massive storage tents are almost empty. There is so little here. Some has already been distributed. Sagar Mani Parajuli is joint secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is coordinating Nepal's relief efforts. They don't have enough supplies. First thing they need, he says, tents.
SAGAR MANI PARAJULI: Tent first. Dry foods, like noodles, biscuits, and blankets.
LEWIS: How can his country recover, he asks, from the worst earthquake to hit the region in more than 80 years when they simply don't have what they need. Russell Lewis, NPR News, Kathmandu. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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