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QUEENSTOWN AIRPORT FASTEST GROWING IN NZ

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February, 2010

Queenstown Airport is the fastest-growing airport in New Zealand and Australia, according to new figures.

Queenstown Airport chairman Mark Taylor presented figures at a Queenstown Lakes District Council finance and corporate accountability committee meeting this month that showed a big increase in international and domestic passengers arriving in the resort.

In the six months to December, domestic passengers increased by almost 30,000 compared with the same period in 2008.

International passengers grew by almost 15,000 between the same periods, and scheduled international flights increased by 57.

Mr Taylor said the figures made the airport the fastest growing in New Zealand and Australia despite the airport not actively seeking additional flights.

"Airlines have continued to feed the capacity for the trans-Tasman market and passengers have continued to fill the seats," he said.

A $6 million runway overlay project began this week and construction on a runway end safety area is expected to be completed before the Civil Aviation Authority deadline of October 2011.

A taxiway for heavy aircraft that will improve traffic flow after landings is in the early stages of development. "It could become a point of contention with airlines if we have to start stacking planes in the air to cope with forecasted growth in the trans-Tasman area," Mr Taylor said.

Cr Gillian Macleod said the rapid expansion of the airport needed to incorporate the well-being of Frankton residents.

"The airport is very successful economically, but there is room for improvement in the area of sociably sustainable growth," she said.

"Queenstown Airport will draw a lot more workers in the future, and getting them to and from the airport may involve looking at public transport options for them. Issues such as this will become more apparent as (the airport) becomes surrounded by Frankton," she said.

Mr Taylor said noise boundary issues and the airport's operational hours would be worked through in future hearings of plan change 35.

"These will be worked through with the council, community and our neighbours," he said.

Submissions for the district council plan change, which seeks to amend existing noise boundaries and introduce a new night-time noise boundary enabling aircraft to land until midnight, closed this month.
Source: The Southland Times