Queenstown Lakes District councillors will be asked to approve a proposed statement of intent (SOI) from the Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) at their full meeting on Thursday.
A council media statement today said although the SOI in its current form referred to the Covid-19 pandemic, it could not fully reflect the impact of an extended period of no air travel for the airport company.
Council chief executive Mike Theelen said agreeing to the SOI in its current form would allow the airport to focus on its response to the Covid-19 crisis, particularly its 70 employees, and the impact on the 900 workers employed by the 80 businesses that operated at the Queenstown and Wanaka airports.
It would then develop a modified SOI, to be delivered by a new deadline at the end of October, that would better take account of the impacts of the pandemic on the company’s operations and its strategy for the next three years.
