7 Jun - 12 Jun
LOCALLY OWNED SINCE FOREVER
No 904
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
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58 IN SI
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Keep that airport draft Masterplan feedback coming
It is now almost a fortnight since we began community consultation on our draft Master Plan for Queenstown Airport. I’ve been encouraged and delighted at how engaged the community is in the draft plan and the feedback we’ve received so far. Please keep it coming. The LWB editorial provides me the opportunity to address some questions I’m getting frequently. We’ve been asked about Queenstown Airport’s noise boundaries. I know this is a particularly sensitive issue and when an extension of the noise boundaries was proposed a few years ago, the airport received clear feedback that this was unacceptable. A key decision embedded in our 10-year Strategic Plan is that we will operate the airport within the existing air noise boundaries for the next decade and not to seek to expand them. It’s important to be clear on this point – an expansion to the noise boundaries is not on Queenstown Airport’s agenda. We are proposing to accommodate modest growth to serve the community within the existing noise boundaries, but we are not driving demand. By 2032, we are forecasting about 23% more aircraft and 33% more passengers. We are already working with airlines that fly in and out of ZQN to use the quietest and most fuel-efficient aircraft on this route – for example, the Airbus A321and A320 NEO aircraft used by Air New Zealand. The A321 NEO provides around 27% more seats, making it highly efficient, as well as considerably quieter than the airline’s A320s. We applaud the district’s regenerative tourism goals and the Destination Management Plan. We want visitors to have a great experience here and we support the work being done to determine the right balance of visitors for our community. We’ve also been asked about the future of Wānaka Airport. This draft Master Plan relates only to Queenstown Airport. While we manage the day-to-day operations of Wānaka Airport under a management services agreement, the airport is owned by council, which will consult on long-term plans for Wānaka. Sounds Air currently operates popular daily scheduled services between Wānaka and Christchurch and there is thriving general aviation community at Wānaka Airport. Public consultation on Queenstown Airport’s draft Master Plan is being undertaken in partnership with QLDC through its Let’s Talk platform (letstalk. qldc.govt.nz/zqn-draft-master-plan) and there is an opportunity there for the community to raise wider issues. We want to provide an airport that serves our communities well and that we can all take pride in. To do that we need your input. Please take a look at what we are proposing and let us know what you like, what you think could be improved, and anything you think is missing. Kā mihi nui. Glen Sowry, CEO of Queenstown Airport
Orbus Queenstown returned to a full time table this month, thanks to contractor Ritchies recruiting experienced drivers from overseas. Tenny, Bernard and Isagsni, pictured to the left of their managers, are among the latest cohort driving in the resort, with more on the way. (Don’t forget to thank your bus driver!)