Forget the business class lounge. Passengers at Santiago, Chile’s main airport don’t even have a terminal building. Both the international and domestic terminals were damaged by Saturdays’ earthquake and not are operational. Authorities have set up giant tents to accommodate the thousands of stranded travelers anxious to catch a flight.
Despite delays and having to line up outside under a hot sun most passengers seemed pleased with the way airport authorities are handling the crisis. Tim and Bonnie McGill from Omaha, Nebraska, who now live in Taiwan, were boarding a plane this morning for Chile’s Easter Island. The couple said although waiting an hour outside the downtown office of Chile’s main airline LAN, they did not experience any serious problems with their vacation.
A Scottish couple also on vacation had nothing but good things to say about Chilean authorities. Keith Scott said “things were very well organized.” His wife Alice added they “were really impressed by all the Chilean people.”
On the other side of the airport aid flights have started to arrive. One Spanish aircraft brought dozens of “rescue experts” and 17 search dogs. On Tuesday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton briefly touched down at the airport as part of a previously planned five nation Latin American tour. She brought with her badly needed satellite telephones and a pledge of more help. Chile’s neighbors are also pitching in. Peru, Argentina and Brazil are providing field hospitals.
As the death toll increases, the front-page headlines of one of Chile’s most well respected newspapers said the head of the Chilean Navy admitted to making a mistake by not acting sooner to warn residents of coastal towns about a tsunami.
Many quake victims in hardest hit areas of the country say the government acted too late and was too slow in delivering aid. Some critics suggest the government was reluctant to call in the military, fearful that the sight of troops on the streets would remind people of the country’ s recent past when it was ruled by a military dictatorship. When the military finally arrived to deliver rations troops were cheered by hungry quake victims.
Meanwhile authorities said there has been a dramatic drop in looting, Authorities credit an 18 hour-a-day curfew and thousands of troops and police on the street. Another explanation is that there is simply nothing left on store shelves.
Adding to the anxiety about the future is fear of more aftershocks, both seismic and political. In one week Chile’s newly elected President will take office.