Wellington Airport $500m plan could open up long-haul flights

Friday, 22 November 2024

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Wellington Airport has revealed $500 million of plans that could mean direct flights from the capital to world centres ranging from Los Angeles to Singapore without having to extend the runway a single metre.

But it comes with one big question. If the airport – still 34% owned by the Wellington City Council after a contentious vote to keep it – uses financing and other means to get $500m, will the airlines come?

Or, in the words of aviation expert Irene King: “What is Wellington willing to do to get the carriers?”

On Friday the airport revealed its planned $500m upgrade, starting with new branding then moving on to terminal improvements. But the big change is new technology that makes the runway safer, allowing bigger, longer-range planes to land and take off fully loaded.

Wellington’s attempts to get long-haul flights has been a long-running saga and until now stymied by a short runway. The only blip was a short-lived Wellington to Singapore flight that had to refuel in Australia on its way out because of Wellington’s short runway. The council in 2022 paused plans to extend the runway to the south after long battles aimed at stopping it.

But King said new generation planes, still in the pipeline, could technically fly in and out of the capital non-stop to long-haul destinations, though the current runway length meant there was little room for error.

New technology was planned using energy-absorbing blocks to increase safety margins at the ends of the runway. It meant a plane in trouble would go into energy-sapping zone and stop it from going over the end – which in Wellington is a road and sea at one end and rocks and sea at the other.

King said the balancing act the airport faced was paying for improvements while keeping fees low enough to get airlines seeing Wellington as a competitive alternative to Auckland and Christchurch.

She imagined Singapore Airlines and Emirates would look favourably at the capital, as would some Chinese carriers as Chinese tourists seemed attracted to coming to the capital city. American carriers could also be keen if the business case stacked up. Air New Zealand was also an important part of the mix, she said.

It meant direct flights from Wellington to places like Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Los Angeles and San Francisco would be possible. Further afield New York and Dubai could potentially be on the cards, she said.

An airport statement said the $500m over five years would be funded though usual capital investment and bank financing, cashing in term deposits, and issuing of bonds. No rate or taxpayer money was needed.

Industry sales data showed Wellington had the largest number of passengers for Singapore Airlines and Emirates for an airport they did not directly serve.

Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said that since 2022 the Airbus A350-900 aircraft could reach Southeast Asia with a full passenger load from Wellington non-stop. Soon-to be-delivered Boeing 777X planes could do the same and go potentially further.

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau said the council, as part owner of the airport, got dividends from the airport but this could drop if the airport hit challenges.

Whanau, a Green Party member, was asked about the added potential pollution from more planes.

“We welcome more visitors to Wellington,” she said.

“At the same time, we must promote aircraft fuel efficiency, encourage local tourism, and continue to invest in renewable energy, carbon credits and nature-based climate solutions.”

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