Air rights: operators lash out

"Skulduggery" and "dirty pool" are two of the terms being used to describe the way the Department of Conservation has divvied up landing rights for tourist operators flying into Milford Sound.

Wanaka-based Aspiring Air, which has 40 years' history at Milford, is one of the established operators to miss out in Doc's new Milford Aerodrome Concession Allocation Process.

The company normally carries out 220 landings a year at Milford. Under the new system, its two 10-seater Britten Norman Islanders will have no landing rights at the country's top tourist destination.

Managing director Barrie McHaffie told the Otago Daily Times last night the value of his company had been slashed by more than $1 million as a result.

The "packet" of landings applied for by his company went to another tenderer, Air Safaris and Services (NZ Ltd), of Tekapo.

Thirty-six companies applied for 23 packets of 9496 yearly landings The 10-year concessions allow operators to regularly land at, and take off from, the Milford aerodrome between 8.30am and 6pm. The concession system was devised mainly to limit air traffic noise in the area.

Aspiring Air CEO David Horsburgh claims to have been advised by Doc to apply only for the packet of landings the company had used historically, rather than apply for the packets of its competitors.

However, the company's competitors had not followed suit.

"I think it stinks. There is something very smelly about this," Mr Horsburgh said.

"I'm livid that the injustice of this process can deny my company the right to earn a livelihood."

Community relations manager for Doc in Southland Martin Kessick said last night operators were free to apply for whatever packet they wanted.

"And it's just the situation where some packets were more competitively fought over than others, but the system itself, we are confident, has given us the best operators for those packets."

He would not comment last night on allegations Air Aspiring was given wrong advice on how to handle the tender process.

He said the company could apply to have its case reconsidered.

Aspiring Air was started by the Gore Aero Club and began flying into Milford Sound 40 years ago.

Mr McHaffie bought it almost 20 years ago but has had it on the market since a serious motor accident in 2007.

Steve Combe, of Wanaka Helicopters, said a delegation of operators would attempt to talk to Prime Minister Helen Clark this week about the tender process.

Wanaka Helicopters missed out on the 36 landings it had applied for and Mr Combe also claims to have had advice to tender only for the packet of landings the company had used historically.

The changes, he says, have established a monopoly at Milford.

"Forty percent of the landing rights to 24 companies are now controlled by one operator, who was a key player in advocating the new system."

Chairman of the group representing Milford users, Mark Quickfall, would not confirm to the Otago Daily Times that companies with which he was associated held 40% of landings. However, he did confirm his connection with several of the successful companies.

He said he had been attending meetings with Doc for five years because there was "a lot at stake".

"I guess other operators chose not to be as involved or pay as much attention to it. I certainly don't see where we can be accused of anything but being sensible. We had absolutely no advantage. It's just the way of the world, I'm afraid. I take no comfort from other operators who missed out. That's not our doing."

 

 

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