Helicopters face the chop from Auckland Airport

John and Sofia Ambler have owned Heletranz for the past 10 years. Photo / Supplied

Regular helicopter flights will soon be grounded at Auckland Airport, upsetting operators who say the move will have a detrimental impact on high-end tourism.

They say they have multiple forward bookings from wealthy visitors who jump off planes and ease on to choppers to be whisked to the likes of the Bay of Islands and Waiheke Island.

The airport company plans to close its dedicated helipad on June 15, citing construction work and safety issues. There is no immediate alternative solution.

Operators have criticised the airport company, saying it has lost sight of its primary role - aviation - in favour of commercial operations such as retail and carparks. This is a claim the airport rejects.

“Helicopters are too much of a hassle for them, in a nutshell,” said Heletranz chief executive John Ambler.

“It’s just unacceptable. They are an airport and their primary mission is to cater for aviation. Secondary is to build a supermarket, a Kentucky Fried Chicken and a carpark.

“It clearly is evident that their focus has moved on to the commercial side of the land being the asset and helicopters don’t feature in a current plan.”

In a statement, the airport cited issues such as limited options for a heliport on its land footprint, partly caused by safety rules. It said there were just an average of two helicopter landings a day at the moment, compared with an average 200 fixed-wing landings.

But helicopter operators say the number of chopper movements lifts considerably during the busy summer tourism season - up to 20 flights a day, says Ambler.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said the airport’s move was “very disappointing”.

“[The] airport needs to stick to their core business of planes and helicopters rather than car-parking and retail, unfortunately council’s shareholding is too small to influence their behaviour.”

Ambler said Heletranz, one of four helicopter operators who attended a meeting with the airport last week, held multiple bookings to/from Auckland Airport through into 2024.

“These bookings are for guests arriving across a multitude of key international airline partners including American Airlines, United, Qantas and Emirates.

“The alternate solution for these clients of a transfer to a heliport of 30-60 minutes, traffic dependent, is by no way the experience they would expect when arriving in New Zealand. Further to this, is it ‘right’ for our gateway airport not to provide this service to a key part of the aviation industry and the clientele we service? A key loss of competitive advantage against the likes of Christchurch and Queenstown where this service is easily accessible.”

Ambler, who is also a commercial pilot, said he flew airliners and corporate jets all over the world and “there is not an airport where there is not a helicopter coming in. The majority of them don’t even speak to the control tower - there is definitely a solution, it’s just the willingness to do it”.

In a statement, an Auckland Airport spokeswoman said the company had “regrettably” decided to close the heliport in 2019 because of construction activity and “the need to ensure public safety”.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant the airport’s construction projects were put on hold, and the closure of the helipad was delayed.

“With the recovery of aviation, we are now under way again with a major upgrade to revitalise Auckland Airport. This includes an airfield expansion and stormwater upgrade to the north of Pier B – a critical project that will enable development of the new combined domestic and international terminal to take place.

“Unfortunately, the existing heliport is no longer suitable for helicopter landings for safety reasons, due to construction activity and obstacles in the western approach path to the heliport, which do not comply with Civil Aviation rules. Earthworks will also encroach upon the current heliport site.”

The airport was investigating whether a similar facility could be located on the precinct as part of its longer-term master plan but options were limited because safety rules prevented helicopters from approaching over carparks and buildings.

“We know heliport operators will be disappointed and we are committed to working with them as we consider options for a future heliport as part of our master planning. With at least five other heliports located in Auckland, including two within 13km away, we are hopeful they will be able to find a suitable alternative.”

Inflite Group CEO Adam Joyce said in a briefing document that operators were told it would take about three months for other possible locations to be assessed, once the heliport closed. However, they were told there were no guarantees and that it was “very unlikely to have anything in place this summer”.

“How has Auckland Airport not managed to find an alternate solution in four years? Helicopter access is not infrastructure-heavy and with good planning an area could be made acceptable for operations in as little as three months.

“Auckland Airport is the gateway to New Zealand for a broad range of visitors. Tourism New Zealand has been directed by government to focus on ‘high value’ visitors which aligns closely with the premium sector.

“This sector regularly utilise helicopters to transport them from international flights through to destinations in Auckland and around New Zealand, commonly the luxury lodges.

“The seamless transit between commercial flight and helicopter is something that is found at the majority of major airports around the world and would absolutely be expected somewhere like Auckland Airport.”

The airport spokeswoman said the airport would still support helicopter medical flights and those using the runway approach to meet private jets.

“Any suggestion that we are focused on commercial projects over our aeronautical business is wrong. We have invested more than $1.6 billion in aeronautical infrastructure since 2012. We have also just announced the single biggest redevelopment since the airport opened in 1966 – the construction of a new $2.2 billion domestic facility to replace the ageing domestic terminal.”

She said the airport was a “huge advocate” for tourism. “While we are unable to support helicopter operations at this time for safety reasons, we are confident operators will find a suitable alternative in the interim with at least five other heliports located in Auckland, including two within 13km of the airport.”