Queenstown Airport

Airspace rules were broken 11 times at Queenstown Airport last year by light aircraft and adventure-related activity operators, figures from New Zealand's national air navigation provider service show.

The Environment Court has reserved its decision until May on a hearing considering noise from Queenstown Airport and surrounding future developments.

Queenstown Airport Corporation chief executive Steve Sanderson is confident the year-long dispute over airport noise will be settled by the end of the week, as involved parties head back to the Environment Court today.

Some of the expected heat has come out of an Environmental Court hearing concerning noise and surrounding developments at Queenstown airport, as several parties have reached a compromise.

Four weeks of Environment Court hearings are coming up in Queenstown early next year, all dedicated to inter-related Queenstown matters and dealing with airport noise.

A revised Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) constitution has been adopted, without lowering the board's $70 million transaction consultation threshold, sought by two councillors.

The Office of the Auditor-general has begun a study concerning the controversial strategic alliance between Queenstown and Auckland airports, to "seek learnings" from existing council-controlled organisation models.

Professional director John Gilks, of Wanaka, has been announced as chairman of Queenstown Airport Corporation by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, which unanimously supported his appointment.

Queenstown Airport has started work on sealing its grass crosswind runway, which is closed up to 50 times a year due to unsafe surface conditions.

Qantas says it avoided 50 weather-related diversions at Queenstown Airport, including the winter blasts of snow on July 24 and August 14, thanks to innovative navigation technology.