Sounds Air announced on Monday it was quitting its three daily flights between Wānaka and Christchurch from September 28, due to increased passenger levies.
Managing director Andrew Crawford said the company could no longer afford it and felt it had been forced to drop the route after five years of fighting for a solution.
Wānaka Business Chamber board vice-chairman Paul Rae said the flight’s axing hindered the business community and it was time for central government to step in.
"It’s a huge cost to the community and it is a real loss as it was a very convenient service. You could be at the airport within 10 minutes and at a meeting in Christchurch by 9am, and have a full day’s work or meetings.”
The removal of the flight meant it was near impossible to get to the garden city and back in one day, and it was a lot more expensive when you added the drive to Queenstown, the parking and the extra costs for Air New Zealand flights.
Mr Rae booked a flight through the national airline, which cost him $450, instead of the lower prices of $250-$350 at Sounds Air.
Air New Zealand was offering fewer flights from Queenstown to Christchurch than it used to and now averaged three a day.
"Wānaka needs to be a lot more regionally connected and central government needs to take responsibility for some things. They have just put up the levies and added to those costs."
The increased levies were going to cost Sounds Air an additional $350,000 a year and push the price of tickets between the two centres from $350 to at least $500.
Waitaki MP and local MP for the region Miles Anderson said he felt for the 10 staff who would lose their jobs.
"I know that the government is committed to addressing concerns of regional connectivity – and this is a high priority," he said.
Based at Wānaka Airport is Wānaka Helicopters Group. The flight school and commercial tourism operator has felt the pinch of the levies and regulatory costs.
Pilot and chief executive Pete Spencer-Bower said axing the flights was disappointing for the industry, and highlighted growing challenges for aviation groups in New Zealand.
"These services are vital for regional connectivity and, critically, for pilot training,” he said.
The company boasts the largest helicopter flight training school in Australasia for both helicopter and fixed wing aircraft.
The training business was facing a 230% increase in rent at Wānaka Airport under QAC's management, on top of a 145% rise in Civil Aviation Authority levies and "ever-increasing” maintenance and insurance costs, he said.
Wānaka Community Board chairman Simon Telfer said ongoing community engagement around the future of Wānaka Airport had pinpointed a greater need for regional connectivity, not less.
"There are many residents who use this service for business, schooling and medical appointments," he said.
"My wife, an occupational therapist, has had a number of her ACC clients fly Sounds Air to meet with medical specialists in Christchurch. Others often use the service to support members of their whanau undergoing chemotherapy.”
Health Action Wānaka reiterated that losing the flight would leave the community further under pressure for health services.
Committee member Monique Mayze said most of the barriers Wānaka people faced in health were caused by distance from the services they needed. The removal of the well-used flights would make it more difficult for patients to reach specialist services.
