A decade of growth at Wanaka Airport has prompted a call for a new corporate management model to attract more than $10 million in investment and fulfil its master plan of being a certified, regional airport by 2036.
The Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) has expressed interest in providing that governance from July 1, replacing the Wanaka Airport Management Committee that has been in place for six years.
If QAC takes over, it is likely the two part-time staff employed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) will continue to be employed in similar roles by QAC, a council report released yesterday says.
Wanaka Airport's master plan, adopted by the council in October last year, outlines major goals of building a new terminal, extending the runway, and attracting larger planes and more travellers.
But before any of that can happen, the council must decide how the airport's operations can be better protected by the district plan, and how it will be governed in the future.
QLDC regulatory and corporate services general manager Roger Taylor says in his report for Tuesday's council meeting the airport has traded profitably over the last 10 years.
Aircraft movements have more than trebled, the number of tenants has increased from nine to 43, and scheduled air services have been introduced.
"To enable the implementation of the master plan and in particular, development of scheduled air passenger services, requires an extensive capital investment," he said.
Improvements have been funded from surplus revenue from airport operations, except for $640,000 spent on runway resealing last year, which was funded directly by the council.
The airport management committee had been effective but was not necessarily the correct structure to try to raise more than $10 million, Mr Taylor said.
