As a major island resort, it was a relatively easy process to inform guests of the situation and to provide accommodation, for the duration. All airline reservations were re-booked directly between the guests and Jetstar or Qantas Link, as the airport staff including John, were stuck on the mainland and had no hope of handling this aspect. John was in constant touch with Whitsundays Coast Airport and assisting in the negotiations with Jetstar regarding its Saturday afternoon air service. Once again, the Jetstar’s not to fly in to Proserpine was dictated to by outside factors. Weather conditions in Mackay began to deteriorate well before Ului hit Airlie Beach. At 2:30 on Saturday afternoon Mackay Air Traffic Control closed down its operations, making it impossible for any aircraft to fly in or out of the region. Concerned about the late notice of the shut down in the late afternoon John went to the airport to make sure he could tell people of the situation and at 6:00pm, the normal departure time that last flight, he left a sign on the door and went home to make his own arrangements to ride out the storm with his family.
At home, John and his family and friends had dinner and watched the television for the latest news on the storm’s progress. At 11:30 they lost power. The windows had been taped and all the other necessary precautions had been taken so the only thing to do was to wait it out. With torches and a battery radio they went off to bed