
Media release: Wellington Airport’s proposed extension proposal still doesn’t stack up
A decision by the Environment Court to proceed with Wellington International Airport’s runway extension application is disappointing given the length of delays, increasing costs and strong public opposition, according to community groups opposed to the proposal. Richard Randerson, Co-Chair of Guardians of the Bays, representing more than 600 concerned individuals and community groups said Wellington Airport had run a protracted and flawed process. “It is now January 2019 – more than two-and-a-half years after the application was first made and yet key questions around safety and the business case are still unanswered. The Airport first lodged its application for resource consent in April 2016. That application was put on hold soon after as safety concerns over the length of the runway’s safety areas were still to be resolved in a separate court case initiated by the New Zealand Pilots Association. It was due to resume end of 2018 but the safety concerns have still not been resolved, with a delay of least another 5 months pending a ruling by the Civil Aviation Authority Director General. “At the time the Airport made its first application to the Environment Court, 525 of the 776 submissions were opposed to the runway extension, expressing Read More …