After the December resignation of former airport chief executive Rene Bakx, who had left Port Otago to work in Canterbury, Mr Boult (57), a Crown appointee as an airport director since 2003, was approached to take over as acting chief executive.
"They were looking for management continuity because of several issues which were coming up this year, starting in about January," Mr Boult said when contacted.
An international recruiting agency specialising in the air industry had supplied a shortlist of chief executive hopefuls and Mr Boult said they would be interviewed shortly, but there was no deadline for choosing his full-time successor.
"No. I'm not on the shortlist. My name was put forward as temporary," Mr Boult said.
The airport is 25% Crown-owned and 75% by the Christchurch City Council's holding company, which is also the majority shareholder of listed Lyttelton Port of Christchurch.
Mr Boult, who gained his aviation licence on his 15th birthday but has not flown planes for several years, lives at Lake Hayes.
He is passionate about Christchurch airport as the main gateway to the South Island and its importance to Central Otago.
Two of the airport issues Mr Boult was appointed to oversee - the raising of landing charges to airlines in mid-March and the $200 million redevelopment of its domestic terminal and international check-in areas - have been addressed.
"That is going to be one of the largest construction projects seen in the South Island," Mr Boult said of the latter.
He is a staunch supporter of the airport's role in the South Island, including about 21,000 full-time equivalent jobs associated with airport activities.
"The importance of Christchurch airport to the South island is sometimes overlooked.
It has about 10 million predominantly tourism-related passenger movements a year and is the great conveyor belt for the South Island," he said.
He said passenger numbers were forecast to decline this calendar year by about 5%, but he was bullish about the introduction of JetStar services in June and the likelihood they would be "aggressively" looking to boost passenger throughput.
He said aircraft numbers had increased 100% during the past decade and were forecast to possibly increase a further 100% in the next 10 to 15 years.
Mr Boult is known for three major subdivisions around Central Otago: Luggate, Threepwood and Butal Park, which between them developed more than 370 sections.
He said with "the property market quiet" he had no big plans except seeing out his time as acting chief executive.
