Bumpy ride becoming smoother

It’s been a bumpy ride for New Plymouth Airport, but passenger numbers have flown higher than anticipated in the wake of Covid19 lockdowns.

When New Zealand went into lockdown in March 2020, New Plymouth’s new terminal had only been open a couple of weeks.

Expecting 38,478 passengers through its doors in April, just 25 people passed through before the airport had to close on Saturday, April 4. Revenue went into a nosedive and the airport company, Papa Rererangi i Puketapu (PRIP), needed a $22m debt-to-equity hand up from its sole shareholder, New Plymouth District Council.

But the latest report on PRIP’s finances at the end of 2020, six months into the financial year, shows ‘‘good recovery’’ compared to the initial post-lockdown prognosis, New Plymouth District Councillors will be told at their meeting today.

Passenger numbers for the six months to December 31 reached 123,025 – just under half (45 per cent) of the number seen in the last six months of 2019, but 15 per cent higher than expected. ‘‘This is despite the temporary lockdown in Auckland mid-term (in August) and losing several days at the beginning of December due to weather,’’ the report said.

The new terminal is still a point of interest, with group tours still visiting.

Following discussions with Puketapu Hapu¯ , on whose tribal area the airport is built, work is under way to develop explanations of the cultural artwork seen throughout the terminal, the report said.

Passenger numbers for the six months to December

31 reached

123,025.