The Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) does not plan to pursue expansion of Wanaka Airport within the next three years, according to the corporation’s draft statement of intent (SOI).

The revised SOI will be considered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) during its monthly meeting this week (Thursday October 29).

In April the QLDC accepted an interim SOI from the corporation, acknowledging that the SOI (which was written before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic) did not reflect the current environment. The council gave QAC another six months to prepare a revised draft SOI.

QAC deputy chair Adrienne Cooper said then the pandemic had led to QAC being a “significantly changed business” with much uncertainty in the short to medium term. 

The new SOI says COVID-19 has resulted in a reduction in passenger and aircraft movements to and from the region which is expected to last for some time. 

The sharp reduction in aircraft movements means QAC “will not apply to expand air noise boundaries at Queenstown Airport, nor progress plans to develop Wanaka Airport, over the period covered by this SOI”, the draft statement says.

The QAC says it is not seeking to accommodate wide-body jet operations in the long-term planning for Wanaka Airport.

While the QAC will not pursue any expansion at Wanaka Airport, the draft SOI notes: “...we do expect at some point in the future to resume the master planning process for Wanaka Airport and this will be signalled in a future statement of intent.”

The SOI also clarifies that “QAC has not sought nor is it seeking going forward to accommodate wide-body jet operations in the long-term planning for Wanaka Airport”. 

The global shift caused by COVID-19 is a “unique opportunity” to reflect on the recent significant growth in the district and “come together and plan for sustainable infrastructure, including airport infrastructure”, the SOI says.

What’s more, the QAC is encouraging QLDC to use the hiatus in international passenger volumes to complete the spatial plan for the district (which is intended to serve as the district’s future development strategy). That will enable QAC to form its long-term strategy, the SOI says.

The draft SOI also notes that Christchurch International Airport Limited’s (CIAL) acquisition of 750ha of rural land in Tarras, intended for the development of a new wide-body jet capable international airport, will be considered as part of QAC’s “long-term planning work”.

“The QAC board of directors is confident that the region is well served by its existing airports now and into the future,” the SOI says.

Wanaka Stakeholders Group deputy chair Mark Sinclair told the Wanaka App: "This latest SOI addresses none of the key issues about Wanaka Airport and the approach it signals is still legally faulty. We're reserving further comment until the High Court judgement comes out sometime in the next few weeks."

QAC’s business operations deliver an annual dividend paid to QLDC, which totalled $6.2M in 2019. QAC expects to pay a dividend of $8.295M for 2020 but no dividend at all in 2021 or 2022.

PHOTOS: Supplied