The proposal is part of the Milford Opportunities Project masterplan, unveiled last July, which aims to address visitor pressures in the area through access changes, including international visitor charges and cruise ship bans.
After a visit to Milford Sound last week with Southland MP Joseph Mooney and Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean, Brown says he thinks the airstrip closure is "an absolutely crazy thing" to have on the table.
"It’s a core part of the Milford Sound proposition to tourists and the reality is those operators rely on it for their businesses and have done so for many years."
While he agrees there’s room for improvement in managing visitor congestion, he says closing the airport is not the answer.
He says the facility, which also provides critical access during emergency events, services 5% of the visitor market to Milford Sound, so its removal would only add pressure to bus and car congestion.
"What they [operators] need is certainty around the future … it’s the absolute wrong decision when we are trying to get tourists back into New Zealand and businesses back up and running."
Brown suggests the ministerial group making decisions should visit the area to talk to businesses who "rely on this for their bread and butter", as well as tourists.
"It’s all well and good for people in ivory towers in Wellington to come up with great plans but you’ve got to talk to people on the ground who are impacted."
Flightseeing operators have reduced their businesses’ environmental impact, Brown says, only to have their future operations thrown up in the air.
"Now, you’ve got a government coming along saying ‘well actually, we might just rip up the airfield anyway and turn it into a bit of grass walkway’.
"That’s the last thing that should be done."
