Queenstown Airport Corporation’s (QAC) newly appointed chief executive officer (CEO) Glen Sowry says any decision for expansion of air services at Wānaka Airport is a decision the community should make.

Speaking to the Wānaka App in Wānaka last week, Glen said that given QAC is 75 percent owned by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) and its ratepayers, it was “self evident that we need to be respectful and mindful of servicing the needs and the wants and expectations of the ratepayers through the council.”

“The Wānaka Airport discussion has really got to be led by this community,” Glen said. 

“If they want regional turboprop services to Wellington or whatever the case might be and beyond … that really is a conversation that needs to be led by the people who live here and the council.” 

That conversation may also be further away than expected: Glen said a range of changes being made at Queenstown Airport will allow it to manage projected passenger volumes for the next decade.

Glen was appointed to the CEO role in September last year and in the intervening months has met with a range of stakeholders to understand the community’s view on the district’s airports.

“The message there was that we highly value the convenience and the high frequency air links that the region has around New Zealand and the eastern seaboard of Australia,” he said. 

“And we want you to be a really efficient high performing quality airport but that we're not interested in uncapped growth, and that message was delivered loud and clear.”

QAC is preparing its ten year plan which Glen says will be presented to shareholders in the middle of 2022. A key deliverable under the plan is to diversify revenue streams so QAC is not so dependent on passenger volume for revenue growth.

The airport corporation is also working on how it can operate more efficiently within the noise boundary at Queenstown Airport, which Glen said was about identifying “pinch points” where passenger flow is restricted. 

“In 2018-2019 the airport was starting to near its capacity - that was around 2.4 million passengers - and the key pinch points at the Queenstown Airport terminal were principally inside the terminal,” Glen said.

“It was primarily aviation screening and bag room capacity and a little bit of check-in.

“Since then, in the last nine months, we've doubled the size of the screening points and we’re working with Air New Zealand so people from the lounge can just come down and go straight onto the aircraft when their flight is called.”

Glen said these initiatives and a likely expansion of the terminal will mean Queenstown Airport can manage projected passenger volumes within the noise boundary for the next decade, removing any immediate pressure to expand services at Wānaka Airport.

International flights will start arriving in Queenstown again on May 25 when Qantas recommences trans-Tasman flights; Jetstar will restart its international flights a week later; and Air New Zealand will recommence them towards the end of June. 

“We'll have a good solid schedule in there for the ski season which will be fantastic for the ski fields here,” Glen said.

Every year QAC is required to provide a statement of intent (SOI) to its shareholders QLDC (75.01%) and Auckland International Airport Limited (24.99%).

The draft SOI will be considered by councillors at the full QLDC meeting today (Thursday April 28). It is agreed annually in consultation with shareholders and covers a three-year timeframe. 

The SOI sets out the company’s purpose and objectives, the nature and scope of the activities to be undertaken and the financial targets and non-financial measures by which the performance of the company may be judged in relation to its objectives.

This year's draft SOI can be read here.

PHOTO: Wānaka App