Category Archives: News

NEWS NZ Herald: NZIER savages Wellington runway extension plan

Analysis backing the proposed Wellington airport runway extension “grossly overstates” the benefits, understates the costs and is based on passenger projections that may be five times too high, according to two reports by the independent economic consultancy, the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research, commissioned by the body representing airlines flying in New Zealand. TheContinueContinue reading “NEWS NZ Herald: NZIER savages Wellington runway extension plan”

OPINION Dom Post: Wellington Airport’s runway extension plan struggles to pass the sniff test

PATTRICK SMELLIE Last updated 12:50, December 3 2015 ANDREW GORRIE/FAIRFAX NZ   While there may be 679 long-haul passengers leaving and arriving in Wellington every day already – enough to fill nearly three planes – how many are heading to the same long-haul destinations? OPINION: Running an airline is still one of the hardest ways toContinueContinue reading “OPINION Dom Post: Wellington Airport’s runway extension plan struggles to pass the sniff test”

NEWS: Longer Runway not Plane Sailing

By Bernard Hickey As a Wellingtonian, I would love a runway that permits direct flights to Asia and the US. It would save me schlepping up to Auckland and walking the gauntlet through the carparks to the international terminal. It could encourage more direct international tourism and boost demand for foreign education. And what I’dContinueContinue reading “NEWS: Longer Runway not Plane Sailing”

NEWS: Extending the runway: one truck every minute, for ten hours every day

by Lindsay Shelton The brutal reality of constructing a longer runway at Wellington Airport is revealed in one of the 27 reports that were published this week. It provides startling details of the number of trucks-with-trailers that will be needed to carry rocks through the city for the reclamation – one every minute, for tenContinueContinue reading “NEWS: Extending the runway: one truck every minute, for ten hours every day”

OPINION Dave Armstrong: Dave Armstrong: Project Runway wild gamble without an airline

Hallelujah! After growing opposition from surfers, Moa Point greenies and airline pilots, the airport runway extension is taking off thanks to the latest report commissioned by, wait for it, the airport. Did you know that for every dollar we invest in the runway extension we could get up to possibly maybe perhaps seven back? It’sContinueContinue reading “OPINION Dave Armstrong: Dave Armstrong: Project Runway wild gamble without an airline”

OPINION David Lee: Wellington runway extension or runaway costs?

OPINION: As Wellington International Airport Limited (WIAL) prepares to lodge its application for resource consent for a runway extension, it’s important Wellingtonians are aware of the full facts – because, if the scheme goes ahead, a vast amount of ratepayers’ money will be pouring into it. The plan has its supporters. Wellington City Council (WCC)ContinueContinue reading “OPINION David Lee: Wellington runway extension or runaway costs?”

NEWS: Wellington airport’s safety disputed in runway extension case

Safety at Wellington airport is in dispute with the director of Civil Aviation saying it is safe and the pilots’ union saying the risk of an overrun or undershoot is significant. The airport company wants to extend the length of the runway and Civil Aviation director Graeme Harris has accepted, for now at least, thatContinueContinue reading “NEWS: Wellington airport’s safety disputed in runway extension case”

NEWS: Pilots challenge safety zones for Wellington Airport’s proposed runway extension

The cost of Wellington Airport’s $300 million runway extension will double if the larger safety zones that pilots want are included in the design, a judge has been told. At the High Court in Wellington on Monday, the New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association – the union that represents pilots – argued the proposed extension should includeContinueContinue reading “NEWS: Pilots challenge safety zones for Wellington Airport’s proposed runway extension”

NEWS: Pilots take runway battle to High Court

A plane is 29 times more likely to overshoot the runway at Wellington Airport than at Auckland, the High Court in Wellington has been told. A plane lands at Wellington Airport earlier in 2015. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson The New Zealand Airline Pilots’ Association has gone to court asking for long safety margins atContinueContinue reading “NEWS: Pilots take runway battle to High Court”