Operators irate as airport gives copters the chop

• Published date: 27 May 2023
• Author: Shayne Currie
• Publication title: Weekend Herald

They say they have multiple bookings from wealthy visitors who jump off planes and ease onto choppers to be whisked to the likes of the Bay of Islands and Waiheke Island

The airport company plans to close its dedicated helipad on June15, citing construction work and safety issues. There is no immediate alternative solution.

Operators have criticised the airport company, saying it has lost sight of its primary role — aviation — in favour of commercial operations such as retail and carparks. This is a claim the airport rejects.

“Helicopters are too much of a hassle for them, in a nutshell,” Heletranz chief executive John Ambler said.

“It’s just unacceptable. They are an airport and their primary mission is to cater for aviation. Secondary is to build a supermarket, a Kentucky Fried Chicken and a carpark.

“It clearly is evident that their focus has moved on to the commercial side of the land being the asset and helicopters don’t feature in a current plan.”

In a statement, the airport cited issues such as limited options for a heliport on its land footprint, partly caused by safety rules. It said there were an average of just two helicopter landings a day at the moment, compared with an average 200 fixed-wing landings.

But helicopter operators say the number of chopper movements lifts considerably during the busy summer tourism season — up to 20 flights a day, Ambler says.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said the airport’s move was “very disappointing”.

“[The] airport needs to stick to their core business of planes and helicopters rather than car parking and retail, unfortunately council’s shareholding is too small to influence their behaviour.”

Ambler said Heletranz, one of four helicopter operators who attended a meeting with the airport last week, held multiple bookings to and from the airport through into 2024. “These bookings are for guests arriving across a multitude of key international airline partners including American Airlines, United, Qantas and Emirates.

“The alternate solution for these clients of a transfer to a heliport of 30-60 minutes, traffic dependent, is by no way the experience they would expect when arriving in New Zealand. Further to this, is it ‘right’ for our gateway airport not to provide this service to a key part of the aviation industry and the clientele we service? A key loss of competitive advantage against the likes of Christchurch and Queenstown where this service is easily accessible.”

Ambler, who is also a commercial pilot, said...