At an Environment Court hearing in Queenstown, Wanaka and Glenorchy have been suggested by Air New Zealand and Remarkable Park Ltd as alternative locations for "general aviation" - such things as helicopter and fixed-wing tourist operations.
However, Wanaka management committee chairman Leigh Overton told the Otago Daily Times yesterday that suggesting all of those operations move out of Queenstown was "absurd" and "seems a bit extreme".
While Wanaka could handle more general aviation, Mr Overton acknowledged that demand dictated where tourist operations were based.
And with international flights arriving in Queenstown, that was where the demand was likely to remain, he said.
"While it would be nice to attract some here, and that would be welcomed, it's not all going to come here."
He said although two helicopter maintenance operations had "made the move" to Wanaka a few years ago "for a tourist type operation it's actually quite different because you've really got to be where the supply of people is."
Co-owner of maintenance company Heli Support New Zealand, Kelly Buick, said his company had moved from Queenstown to Wanaka for various reasons.
Ground rents were "quite a bit dearer" in Queenstown.
"And [Wanaka] just suits our demograph better.
"We work on aircraft right up the West Coast and all the way through Queenstown to Milford, so we are more centrally located here for just our particular company."
Mr Buick said there was more land available at Wanaka Airport when they made the move, but it was "not so easy" to get property now.
"I think the Wanaka Airport is getting pretty full for leasehold land."
Mr Overton said Wanaka Airport had plans to keep capacity "just ahead of the market".
"But I don't envisage us suddenly needing to cater for all of what is in Queenstown now in a short time.
"There's common sense required, I think."
Moving general aviation out of Queenstown was an alternative plan put to an Environment Court hearing considering a Queenstown Airport Corporation application to occupy 18.4h of land to future proof expected expansion there.
Wanaka airport is owned by the Queenstown Lakes District Council and managed by the Queenstown Airport Corporation with a Wanaka management committee.
