01 May 2012
One passenger was a very happy man after Auckland Airport staff went above and beyond to help him retrieve an envelope of money that he had dropped between the escalators and stairs at Gate 7.
It wasn’t an easy task. While Operations could point to exactly the place the envelope had been dropped, getting to it meant cutting into the GIB board under the stairs.
The passenger had already had to board his plane without his cash and, after promising to do all they could, a few days later Quentin O’Malley and Graham Allen from EES and Fia from Skygate Security met at Gate 7 armed with tools and torches.
After dropping boarding passes down the same gap to get an idea of exactly where to cut, the team measured and cut a hole in the GIB board. Nothing. They re-measured and cut again. Success.
The money was deposited in the passenger’s bank account – you can’t, after all, post an envelope of cash! – and the team was happy to have been able to help with minimal cost and damage.
The passenger wasn’t charged a cent for the rescue operation and needless to say he was extremely happy. In fact, he has already used Facebook to tell everyone in his network about the service he received from airport staff.
The entire episode was an example of the level of teamwork that goes on every day at Auckland Airport. Well done guys.