Evening flights 'significant milestone' for tourism (+ video)

Queenstown Airport Corporation acting chief executive Mark Edghill runs through part of the...
Queenstown Airport Corporation acting chief executive Mark Edghill runs through part of the technology in use on planes landing at Queenstown Airport after dark, during a public meeting at the airport last night. Photo by Tracey Roxburgh.

Parking at Queenstown Airport and the airport's ongoing battle to acquire an area of land known as "Lot 6'' were two issues raised by the public during an information session about evening flights last night.

About 100 people were at the airport to hear from stakeholders about the behind-the-scenes work, the safety cases and technology in use ahead of the inaugural evening service at Queenstown, to be operated by Air New Zealand on May 23.

During the session, airport corporation acting chief executive Mark Edghill said the flights were, in part, "future-proofing''.

"If we can spread the load [and] get the flights away from one part of the day ... it means we don't have to invest in infrastructure so quickly.''

When asked, Mr Edghill said the airport did not have plans to seek to extend its operational hours - at present from 6am to 10pm - to midnight.

Its next aim was to build a taxiway, which would further ease congestion, but that depended on the acquisition of Lot 6, comprising about 19ha of land, from Remarkables Park Ltd.

The matter was still before the Environment Court, but it was hoped there would be a decision this year.

A large part of the meeting was safety-focused, with representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority, Airways New Zealand and Air New Zealand on hand to allay any concerns.

A Jetstar representative was unable to attend, as the airline was holding its second night of proving flights at the airport. Its inaugural evening flight is scheduled from Melbourne on June 24.

CAA air transport and airworthiness general manager Mark Hughes said the authority was "more than satisfied'' with the safety cases and work done by all stakeholders.

"I have full confidence ... that night operations can now operate perfectly safely at Queenstown.''

Airways chief operating officer Pauline Lamb said there were at least three "backup'' plans to mitigate every one of the 67 risks identified, ensuring safety remained the priority.

"That's why I'm really happy to stand here and be proud ... to ensure that we can [deliver] very safe operations here in Queenstown.''

Air New Zealand chief flight operations and safety officer Captain David Morgan said it had been a long journey.

The national carrier looked at evening operations in the resort in 2008. At that stage, "the safety case didn't stack up''.

Eight years later, the airline was "proud'' to have completed the first evening proving flight at the airport.

"This is a significant milestone,'' Capt Morgan said.

"This is a capacity-constrained airport in winter.

"Queenstown is the tourism engine of New Zealand and tourism is a huge economic engine for this country. We have to reduce that constraint that exists. Going to evening flights ... is a significant milestone not only for aviation, but for tourism in New Zealand.''

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