Plans for Whanganui Airport taxiway to be revised after growth fund refusal

Airport manager Phil McBride says despite increased flight numbers an application for funding for a parallel taxiway has been unsuccessful. Photo / Bevan Conley

Light aircraft movement at Whanganui Airport is almost back to pre-Covid numbers while Air Chathams flights are up to around two-thirds of the frequency they were at before the pandemic.

Whanganui Airport manager Phil McBride said aircraft movement numbers are continuing to grow steadily which is largely due to New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy (NZICPA) flights.

In a report to the Whanganui District Council property and community services committee meeting on Tuesday, McBride said the overall number of flights recorded for the year ended November 2020 was 63,024.

"A reduction in student numbers at NZICPA will have a significant impact," he said.

Air Chathams is running 24 flights between Whanganui and Auckland each week and McBride said the weekend flights have been largely full.

"Alert level changes in Auckland have affected Air Chathams and, of course, the cafe had to close and there was no income from parking."

McBride said an application to the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) for a parallel taxiway project at the airport was unsuccessful and a revised scope for the project is now being devised.

"This will allow the parallel taxiway to be constructed but will remove the commercial development opportunities of the larger project," he said.

McBride said the revised version will utilise funding from the council and the Ministry of Transport while items excluded from the original proposal will be included in future 10-year planning.

Increased traffic at the airport has meant more wear and tear on the current structure and McBride said a parallel taxiway was a key safety recommendation of an aeronautical study to support safe flying operations at a busy airport.

Meanwhile, the aerodrome information service (known as UNICOM) will soon be operating at the airport with 95 per cent of the control tower upgrade completed and staff training under way.

"Once the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certification is achieved, there will be UNICOM operators on site every day," McBride said.

He said the service will significantly improve both the safety of operations at the airport and management's oversight of airport and airspace activities.

The cost of the UNICOM service will be covered by aircraft landing charge levies.