Election Issues: Taupo airport
Is Taupo’s airport adequate for the town and what would you like to see improved, or changed, about the airport?
Connectivity is vital for our district. The Taupo Airport is a fantastic local airport. As Mayor I have fought tooth and nail to retain services and introduce new ones. I am pleased to advise that Air New Zealand offer two returns flights each day to Auckland and Sounds Air offer three return flights from Wellington each week day. All these flights are very well patronised and recent conversations with Air NZ suggest they are considering a third flight to Auckland.
Air Travel is a complex business, I am proud as your Mayor with the help of well known aviator John Funnel and others, we have kept a very good relationship with Air NZ and Sounds Air and the result is a well run, functioning provincial airport. Let’s all support it.
While we are told we should be very pleased with the current services we have operating out of Taupo airport ,a lot of people have mentioned the frustration of the current services, as I have been on the campaign trail. The reality is we must take what we have and make it better. We are a tourist destination. We need to grow the tourism infrastructure and passenger transport is a huge part of that. We are keen to continue our growth trajectory in terms of tourism and part of that is easy access by air. As The mayor I will not hesitate to ask for help from the government and seek advice and support from previous leaders in the aviation industry. An excellent air service is essential if we are to thrive.
I am proud to have been instrumental in ensuring council followed the right procedure to bring Sounds Air to Taupo. We now have the best of both worlds - the large corporate resources of Air NZ and a successful, nimble, regional airline. Our airport is important, but council must stick to the basics. We must be wary of spending significant ratepayers’ money on a white elephant at the airport.
Rotorua did that; it didn’t work, and costs the ratepayer millions every year. Moving forward as your Mayor, my role would be to provide leadership and advocacy to ensure that we create an environment that is conducive to private business flourishing at the airport.