Phil Goff caught in Auckland Airport traffic mayhem

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff / Nick Reed.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff was stuck in traffic for nearly an hour at Auckland Airport and wants to fast-track new infrastructure to solve the problem.

Goff told the Project Auckland lunch event at the Northern Club today that such delays simply weren't "good enough".

The former Mount Roskill MP was personally caught up in the traffic mayhem around Auckland Airport last week that saw passengers miss flights and crew get caught in gridlock.

"It took me close to the hour to get out of the precinct of the airport, an hour, you just think of the first impression that people from around New Zealand and around the world get of our city if it takes you an hour to get out of the immediate vicinity of the airport. It simply isn't good enough," Goff said.

Goff was confident that the city could fix this and other transport problems, but questioned how it would be paid for.

One new source of revenue was a fuel tax, which Goff floated during his election campaign.

"I don't have Government agreement to it yet but I find it really hard to believe that a rational Government would not be prepared to give us a source of revenue that would enable us to meet that investment in transport infrastructure because we do not have other sources from which to do that. I believe that in the end we will gain their agreement," he said.

Asked specifically on his plan to solve congestion at the airport, Goff said there wasn't anything within transport plans for the next decade "that effectively solves that problem by way of mass transit between the CBD and the airport".

"I think that's crazy, those are the two fastest growing areas for both employment and population in the city. I think it needs to be brought into the first 10-year plan," he said.