Visits by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell shut provincial capital Banda Aceh's only airport for hours at a time, meaning incoming shipments could not land and injured survivors of the Dec. 26 disaster could not be evacuated.

Before the disaster struck, the tiny airstrip handled about three flights each day, now it is a bustling hub for relief operations that has to cope with dozens of flights a day.

An Asian diplomat from a country with a military relief mission in Aceh, where more than 104,000 people died in the huge quake and subsequent tsunami, called it "a difficult situation."

"VIPs come and see the destruction for themselves, and then aid follows," said the diplomat, who asked that he not be identified.

Pierre King, of the International Organization of Migration aid group, said there was no way around the problem.

"It's horrible, but what can we do?" he asked, noting that the airport closures had not affected his group, an organization of 104 countries that is helping to deliver food and treat injured survivors.

The official toll from the massive earthquake and tsunamis that hit Indian Ocean shorelines Dec. 26 climbed past 150,000 Jan. 8.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 15, 2005
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