Commercial Airport at Whenuapai is ' pie in the sky '
The air force move away from Whenuapai is set to take a big toll on the local economy, and there ' s serious doubts
about the viability of a commercial airport on the site, says Helensville MP John Key.
" It is laughable to believe spending $25 million at Whenuapai will go anywhere near creating an alternative to
Auckland airport. It would do little more than create a white elephant in West Auckland.
" Auckland airport has capacity to operate 24 hours, is building a second runway, and accommodates large commercial
activities linked to its significant flight traffic and freight and maintenance operations, " says Mr Key.
" In contrast at Whenuapai, freight is a non-starter given it has a curfew at night and cannot handle international
commercial jets. "
Mr Key says it is also extremely unlikely that Air New Zealand or Qantas will relocate any of their main commuter
traffic into Whenuapai.
" Feeder traffic to provisional airports will stay at Auckland, as no-one will fly into Mangere from Wellington or
Christchurch and then take a cab ride to Whenuapai in order to fly to the Bay of Islands.
" This begs the question, who or what would fly out of Whenuapai?
" The inescapable conclusion being, not the kind of airlines likely to create the 800 jobs Waitakere City Council are
predicting, " says Mr Key.
" Coincidently John Howard has dismissed a second airport for Sydney, a city with three times the population of
Auckland because, as he predicts, the increasing size of aircraft is likely to demand longer runways and fewer flight
movements.
" What Auckland needs to do is fix the real problem, the roads and not waste money on an alternative second-rate
airport, " says Mr Key.