I see what you mean. I think the service provided by Provincial Airlines during the whole thing makes them one of the unsung heroes.
You mentioned the harsh climate, and there's no doubt that a good comparator is the North Sea in this particular situation. Going back to that one, obviously the reduced response time—and this is a hard thing to say—is more essential for a harsher climate like this than it would be otherwise, simply for the sake of survival against hypothermia.