Airport plans may include runway extension
New Plymouth’s new $28.7 million airport is on track according to its latest quarterly financial report, but a new runway may also be needed within the next decade.
The report, written by airport company Papa Rererangi i Puketapu board chair Philip Cory-Wright and chief executive Wayne Wootton, was presented to Thursday’s extraordinary meeting of the New Plymouth District Council.
Reviews are under way to deal with extending the car park and landing charges for the airlines, and the airport is planning to apply for Provincial Growth Funding for a feasibility study to extend the runway, with the assistance of the council and following approval by the Tapuae Roa Steering Group, which guides the district development plan.
‘‘We’re bound by what the airlines want to do with the size of their aircraft, but I would consider around a five to sevenyear outlook for this, but we need to put something in place now,’’ Wootton told councillors. ‘‘There’s consultation to be done . . . The design alone will take a year.’’
The current main runway is 1310 metres long but is the shortest runway in the country that Air New Zealand land its ATR72 aircraft, which has a length and wingspan of 27m.
Under certain weather conditions take-off and landing weight restrictions can apply.
‘‘With the airlines potentially looking at even larger aircraft, requiring a longer take-off and landing length, the need to extend the current sealed runway will become even more critical,’’ the report states.
The extensions could require the company to acquire adjacent land and change noise boundaries.
A Ma¯ ori urupa at the western end and a drop-off in surface levels to the eastern end complicate the issue, as well as a requirement from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to include 240m runway end safety areas (RESAs) if the length is increased.
An ‘‘optimal runway length’’ of 1600m plus the RESAs would mean the overall extension would have to be 2080m.
Shortening the RESAs could be possible but required a full aeronautical study to be submitted to and approved by the CAA.
Meanwhile, half the floor slab is in place for the new terminal and work is ongoing to install the plumbing and electrical ducts beneath the floors.
There have been some design issues with late requests from Air New Zealand but the new terminal remains within budget and on programme for opening at the beginning of 2020.
The airport also made a net profit of $127,195 for the quarter, and was ‘‘still looking’’ for options to display the Kingsford Smith mural.