Private jets have been turned away or asked to ''drop and go'' at Queenstown Airport after a temporary terminal hit capacity only seven months after being built.
Eight jets were parked on stands at the corporate terminal at the same time last month, the maximum it could hold, officials said.
Pilots of other jets were advised to either deliver their passengers to Queenstown and then fly to Dunedin or Christchurch until their departure date, or were turned away.
The $200,000 Corporate Jet Services terminal was built in May as an interim solution to meet growing needs at the airport.
The small building was meant to service the market for three years until Queenstown Airport Corporation built a larger, multimillion-dollar facility.
But Queenstown Corporate Jet Services director Robin Leach said it would probably take longer than that.
The expansion is being delayed by protracted negotiations between the airport corporation and Remarkables Park Ltd over land known as Lot 6.
The matter is still before the Environment Court.
Mr Leach said constraints meant little marketing had been done for the Queenstown terminal.
A new facility would enable more jet stands to be created, increasing capacity for ''premium visitors''.
''We've got to be careful or we'll end up being the victims of our own success. We encourage people to come, they turn up in large numbers and we can't accommodate them.''
If the level of service failed customers' expectations, it would have a negative impact, he said.
''If too many people get knocked back, we get the [reputation] the marketplace is too difficult.''
