A mediator could help to clear the air between Oamaru’s flight school and the council as talks resume, Waitaki’s MP says. Miles Anderson said he had been engaged with both the New Zealand Airline Academy (NZAAL) and the Waitaki District Council (WDC) since last year with the aim of coming to an agreeable solution to ensure the flight school continued operating out of the North Otago town. “I am pleased to see both parties getting back to the table to continue discussions and have suggested the appointment of a mediator as a way for negotiations to continue on a positive path,” Mr Anderson said. “Some compromise from both parties may be needed and I would like to see negotiations continue in good faith as a decision is required in coming months. “Losing NZAAL would be a significant blow to Oamaru and we could struggle to see such a significant operation filling the void if they were to leave.” The NZAAL made the “tough” decision not to renew its lease at the airport in May bringing to an end an often-fraught six-year relationship between the flight school and the council. However, a council spokesman confirmed negotiations “never stopped” and that Waitaki Mayor Mel Tavendale had met with both Mr Anderson and Labour List MP Damien O’Connor regarding the future of the airport in recent months, but he declined to comment further. “Mayor Tavendale is happy to work with government representatives to get wider support for the airport to succeed while looking at getting the best deal for ratepayers that sees the airport activity covering its own costs. “WDC has never stopped negotiations — and has presented multiple offers with different options for NZAAL to remain at the airport,” he said. “However, as these are commercially sensitive it would be inappropriate to comment further at this point.” WDC airport manager Matt Sisson, who was appointed last year, did not comment directly on the nature of those discussions. When NZAAL directors were asked about the recent meetings with the council, they said they were “not in a position to comment on these matters at this stage.” Prior to these meetings, NZAAL had cited frustrations with the council which included delays in approvals for a new hangar after the loss of four aircraft in one year due to severe weather, disproportionate rent increases and a failure to prioritise airport maintenance including runway upgrades. Other Oamaru Airport operators, including pilot Simon Laming, had also been critical earlier this year of the council’s “financial mismanagement” of the airport and lack of runway maintenance dating back to before the introduction of the new airport manager last year. Student numbers at the flight school, ranked one of the highest in the country, have increased significantly to more than 200 since the school began operating in Oamaru in 2018. When the council said in May that NZAAL was set to depart Oamaru Airport, aviation leaders in Dunedin, and community leaders locally, said it would be a huge loss to the economy. The “collateral damage” was estimated upwards of $10 million to $15m a year at the potential loss of the flight training school. Labour list MP Damien O’Connor said he had spoken with the mayor and the NZAAL directors. “This is an amazing business utilising existing assets and opening up Oamaru to a huge part of the world. “I trust a contract can be agreed that benefits everyone,” he said. “Council has to ensure that management structures at the airport and development opportunities are beneficial not bureaucratic.” He would do anything possible to retain and grow the academy, while ensuring ratepayers benefited, Mr O’Connor said. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recently recommended the Oamaru Airport become a qualifying aerodrome under Part 139 of the Civil Aviation Rules, requiring a qualifying aerodrome operator certificate under the Civil Aviation Act 2023. Aircraft movements at Oamaru Airport have increased more than five-fold, from 13,104 in 2019 to 82,720 in 2025. The growth, in large part due to the flight training academy, places Oamaru ahead of Wellington (66,253 movements) and Queenstown (66,864), and behind only Auckland (158,597), Ardmore (109,207) and Christchurch (104,090).
