Skydiving Kiwis, based in Ashburton, plans to land skydivers on Sumner Beach and is also making a second attempt to bring the experience to Hagley Park.
It tried to get consent to use Hagley Park as a landing zone in 2019 but was denied due to the level of air traffic at the time. The plan, while still subject to landowner approval from the city council, is now back on the cards due to airspace demand reducing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
And another plan to land skydivers in Sumner to give the Canterbury tourism industry a much-needed boost is also in the works.
Skydiving Kiwis director Lee Barraclough said it has been working on these two projects for nearly two years and is now in the final stages of being able to take Cantabrians skydiving over the Sumner coastline.
“We secured approvals from Environment Canterbury, who manage the beaches, and Airways and are now working with CAA to create a solid framework for our new skydiving base,” said Barraclough.
Said Caroline Blanchfield, group marketing manager at GCH Aviation: “GCH Aviation/Garden City Helicopters is thrilled to be working alongside Skydiving Kiwis in launching this new tourism experience.
”This is a totally new product in New Zealand tourism and that’s a great place to be. Some might think that this is a strange time to bring a new product to market, but this is exactly the time to innovate and launch a new tourism experience to put Christchurch on the domestic and later the international map," said Blanchfield.
In Sumner, the tandem jumps will land on a small 20m by 20m area between Cave Rock and Shag Rock, which will be temporarily cordoned off by experienced drop-zone crews.
“We only plan four flights a day at the start and that small section of beach will only be cordoned off for 20 minutes at the time, before other people can use it again,” said Barraclough, who lives in Sumner.
“It is our aim for Sumner residents to enjoy the skydivers, but also for other businesses to benefit from the visitors we bring into Sumner.”
Customers could be picked up by Garden City Helicopters at Christchurch Airport and flown across the city before being dropped above Sumner Beach or potentially Hagley Park.
“I really believe that skydiving in and above Christchurch city with its most amazing and spectacular scenery is going to be a fantastic [way] to activate the economy,” Barraclough said.
The company has not yet applied for approval from the city council to use Hagley Park as a landing zone.
Creative Intentions, a company working with Skydiving Kiwis, sent a letter to Mayor Lianne Dalziel outlining the idea on Tuesday.
Skydiving Kiwis is also planning to bring tandem skydiving to Hanmer Springs.
The new operations in Hanmer Springs and Sumner will start with six to 10 staff.
“We first want to build a sustainable relationship with domestic customers and once the borders are open again, we intend to be in a strong position to expand," Barraclough said.
