Wanaka’s airport has been developed over many decades on a farm airstrip next to the Clutha River near Luggate.
It is now a busy hub for general aviation and tourism businesses, and Sounds Air operates scheduled passenger services between Wanaka and Christchurch.
Christchurch International Airport Ltd (CIAL) last year spent about $45million buying 750ha of land near Tarras for a new international airport, including a terminal and runway.
It is now studying the viability of the development.
QAC chief executive Glen Sowry said the Queenstown Lakes District Council-owned corporation had "reviewed with interest" a preliminary aeronautical assessment released last Friday by CIAL.
Mr Sowry said CIAL had yet to establish a rationale for a new airport in the South.
There are international airports at Dunedin, Queenstown and Christchurch, and a domestic airport at Invercargill.
QAC was working with airlines to establish safe, efficient and reliable flight paths, Mr Sowry said.
"Queenstown Airport will be particularly focused on the impact of any potential new flight paths to current airspace use, including the existing use rights of the long-established general aviation community and commercial operators in the area," Mr Sowry said.
CIAL project leader Michael Singleton told the Otago Daily Times yesterday that assessment showed new flights could work within the current settings.
"We are encouraged that our assessment has shown new flight tracks are likely to be able to be integrated into the existing environment."
The next steps would include "detailed airspace design work and engagement with key airspace stakeholders including the wide spectrum of users as well as safety and regulatory agencies", Mr Singleton said.
In an interview with the Otago Daily Times on Friday, Mr Singleton said an airspace study was "the next piece of work".
The study would be completed by Aerospace, a company belonging to Airways, New Zealand’s principal navigation service.
Queenstown Airport is a controlled airspace but Wanaka is uncontrolled.
Whether Wanaka could be controlled would be a decision for Airways and the Civil Aviation Authority, after consultation with airport users and the wider community, Mr Singleton said.
CIAL aims to decide whether to apply for planning and operational consents in 2023.
