Proponents of a new airport at Tarras say they won't be able to reach their goal of identifying a preferred runway alignment before the end of this year.

Christchurch International Airport (CIAL) is working on a feasibility study for a possible airport at Tarras and it has identified two potential runway alignments. 

At the end of 2021 a CIAL spokesperson said a preferred runway alignment would be identified by the end of 2022 but that date has now been pushed back to early 2023.

“We appreciate there’s a high level of interest in the project and we worked hard to be in a position to release this information pre-Christmas but still have some more evaluation to undertake,” CIAL project director Michael Singleton said.

A preliminary aeronautical assessment of the site completed in 2021 confirmed the proposed Tarras airport would be able to serve short-haul international destinations such as Australia and parts of the Pacific.

The site could support an airfield with a single runway of at least 2.2 kilometres and possibly up to three kilometres, the assessment found. 

Two potential runway alignments were identified - one aligning to the Lindis Valley and Lake Dunstan and the other to the Hāwea valley and Lake Dunstan - and both alignments would enable aircraft to connect to existing flight paths and would have similar emissions profiles.

Two runway alignments have been identified in a preliminary aeronautical assessment.

Michael said CIAL has a number of experts reviewing, testing and challenging the preliminary analysis that informed the two runway alignments with the preference being determined by safety factors, environmental factors, capacity of the airspace, and operational performance.

“These are critical building blocks to get right and it’s important our experts are able to take the time they need to complete their analysis,” Michael said. “We're on track to identify a preferred alignment in early 2023.”

Christchurch International Airport Ltd (CIAL) revealed plans to develop a jet-capable airport on 750ha of land at Tarras in July 2020. Opponents of the project have been vocal, releasing a number of videos questioning the impact of the proposed airport on the community and environment.

CIAL’s project website can be viewed here.

PHOTOS: Supplied