Focus on airport’s role in growth

WHAT role Wanaka Airport will play in the rapid growth of the Queenstown Lakes district as a destination is not yet known, but it could involve catering to about 7 million passengers a year in 30 years’ time.

As part of its 30year master plan the Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) has forecast 7.1 million passenger movements into the district by 2045.

But it has also proposed capping movements through Queenstown Airport at about five million a year, leaving a possible overflow of about two million passenger movements.

There were about 1.8 million passenger movements through Queenstown Airport in 2016.

The QAC’s preferred scenario was a dual airport option with Wanaka complementing the services provided at an upgraded Queenstown Airport

How it would work and what role Wanaka could play would not be outlined until a master plan, which would be started in 2018, was developed for the airport.

At a meeting in Wanaka on Wednesday night Queenstown Airport Corporation chief executive Colin Keel told an audience of about 60 people itwould approach Wanaka Airport’s master plan in the same way it approached Queenstown’s — with a blank slate.

‘‘What I will say is, Wanaka has an incredible amount of potential but we need to know what the majority of the community wants before we go ahead with anything.’’

Wanaka Airport is not included in the the QAC’s master plan because it was prepared before the QAC was granted a longterm lease of Wanaka Airport by the Queenstown Lakes District Council earlier this year.

There was no timeline for when the statement of intent between the QAC and the QLDC would be finalised, but he hoped a deal would be done by the end of this year, Mr Keel said.

Details such as the length of the lease would have an effect on what Wanaka Airport’s 30year plan would look like.

The return of scheduled domestic flights in and out of Wanaka could also be considered but it needed the majority of the community’s support, he said.

Queenstown Lakes deputy mayor Calum MacLeod said Wanaka needed to be part of the discussion about how the district coped with the project because it was clear from the forecast the tourism boom was not stopping anytime soon.

It was up to the community to outline what it wanted for the airport and people needed to be vocal about what their views were.

‘‘We need to ask ‘can Wanaka be the wonderful town we love today?’ and I think it can, but we need to all start thinking about tomorrow so we get it right.’’

Eventually, the Government would have to step in to help with the cost of the infrastructure needed to cope with the tourist influx, Mr MacLeod said.

‘‘The Queenstown Lakes is the centrepiece of New Zealand Inc, so I don’t think it’s fair for 20,000 or so ratepayers to pay for all the infrastructure needed to accommodate a few million more visitors.’’