Hon Murray McCully
Minister of Foreign Affairs
13 October 2015
New funding to improve Pacific aviation safety
Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced that New Zealand will invest $2.4 million over two years to help improve
aviation safety in eight Pacific countries.
“The Pacific Aeronautical Charting and Procedures Project aims to enhance safety at selected airfields in the Pacific
and make commercial air travel in the region safer,” says Mr McCully.
“The project will allow for more accurate surveying of runways, while also checking the landscape for obstacles that
could encroach on the flight paths of aircraft.
“Advanced satellite technology will be used to develop new flight approaches which will improve the ability of aircraft
to land safely, especially in bad weather.
“Airways Corporation of New Zealand, who currently manage air traffic navigation and services in New Zealand, have been
contracted to undertake this project.
“The project will be implemented at 38 aerodromes across the Pacific over the next two years. Initial work will be
undertaken in Vanuatu and the Cook Islands, before being expanded out to airfields Niue, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and
other Pacific nations.
“Training will also be provided to local staff in the Pacific to ensure that Pacific Islands are able to update aviation
charts and procedures on an ongoing basis,” Mr McCully says.
ends