Paraparaumu Airport - possible closure

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MikeB4
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#2540019 13-Aug-2020 11:33

elpenguino:

That is often mooted but the runway is not long enough, let alone is there room for all the infrastructure that is also needed.

Need some storage space? Oh cool, look at those big new buildings literally on Kapiti airport.....

Before the mistake to create the airport at Rongotai Paraparaumu was the capitals airport. It should never have been moved to Rongotai and now approval to extend teh runway will never get through.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

martyyn

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#2540020 13-Aug-2020 11:36

Last time I checked there are only two flights, in and out, each day to one destination. So can you really call it an airport ?

I go to Auckland 5/6 times a year and I don't think I've ever seen a return flight from Kapiti cost less than $500.

When we took the kids to the Arctic Monkey's last year it was cheaper to drive up and rent an AirBNB at the beach in Kohimarama for a couple of days than it was to fly. Things may have changed since then but I don't even bother to look anymore and we just use Palmerston North.

nickb800

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#2540033 13-Aug-2020 11:42

BlueOwl:

Sounds like it's going the same way as Kaitaia airport - which is running on a shoestring, and definitely at a loss. Owned by the council, I believe.

Sure, the land is worth more if redeveloped for housing, or maybe put to other use such as agriculture or farming. But just keep in mind that if you live in the area and suddenly need an emergency medical team or evacuation to a major hospital, then you'll be glad that the runway wasn't replaced with houses. Airports have value in more ways than the land they're occupying.

AFAIK we don't use fixed wing for medical evacuation out of Kapiti - we don't have a hospital locally and any urgent needs are taken care of by helicopter, less urgent needs by road. Took me 39 minutes to drive to Wellington hospital when my daughter was born, could have been slightly quicker in an Ambulance with lights and sirens. Again, that will improve as the new state highways come online.

Paraparaumu Airport does have some use as a backup for Wellington - recently, while Wellington's runway was being repaired overnight, patients bound for Wellington hospital were flown into Paraparaumu, then carried by Ambulance into the hospital. But it's exceedingly rare, and could probably be achieved with helicopters on those rare occasions.

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2540034 13-Aug-2020 11:43

elpenguino:

MikeB4:

In my view I would prefer to see Wellington Airport closed and Kapiti become the capitals airport.

That is often mooted but the runway is not long enough, let alone is there room for all the infrastructure that is also needed.

Need some storage space? Oh cool, look at those big new buildings literally on Kapiti airport.....

Yes.

Paraparaumu main runway is 1.307km

Hood Aerodrome main runway is 1.250km

Wellington runway is 2.081km

As mentioned, extending the runway at Kapiti would potentially have issue with all the housing and property around it.

If, and that's a big if, Wellington's main airport were to go anywhere, Hood is potentially the better option. Yes, it has a river at one end, but farm land at the other. But does Wellington need a bigger airport\runway. We're not exactly a tourist hot spot.

MikeB4

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#2540043 13-Aug-2020 11:50

The Remutaka hill road is struggling now with the Manawatu Gorge closed it could never cope with the volumes a major airlink based at Masterton would generate.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

elpenguino

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#2540044 13-Aug-2020 11:52

WyleECoyoteNZ:

Paraparaumu main runway is 1.307km

Hood Aerodrome main runway is 1.250km

Wellington runway is 2.081km

As mentioned, extending the runway at Kapiti would potentially have issue with all the housing and property around it.

If, and that's a big if, Wellington's main airport were to go anywhere, Hood is potentially the better option. Yes, it has a river at one end, but farm land at the other. But does Wellington need a bigger airport\runway. We're not exactly a tourist hot spot.

I think the ranges between Masterton and Wellington are a big negative point against Masterton airport. Nothing a big tunnel won't fix?

Even so, Kapiti is 60km from Welly with soon to be all motorway between, not 100km, half or more of that single track

Then, to use Kapiti would require the destruction of hundreds of homes as well as create a noise nuisance compared to the open space of Hood. I think these challenges mean Wellington airport is not going anywhere, except into the neighbouring golf club.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

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Lias

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#2540099 13-Aug-2020 12:02

As someone who lives in Paraparaumu, I also think it's inevitable. The time to try and save the current airport was decades ago. Replacing Wellington airport with Paraparaumu was looked at and rejected back in the 90s, after which the land has changed owners several times and large chunks of it have already been flogged off for development (e.g. our new Placemakers sits on what used to be the cross runway).

My personal view is that we should allow the current one to be turned into housing, in exchange for the owners contributing towards building a replacement airport slightly further north (e.g. between Peka Peka and Otaki). This could potentially be tied in with Nationals proposal to electrify the trains to Otaki, given its own interchange for the expressway etc, which I think would make it much more viable as an alternative to Rongotai.

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elpenguino

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#2540113 13-Aug-2020 12:16

There's a lot of empty land there - but the point of an airport is to fly people close to where they want to go.

When I live in Wellington I don't want to land at Pekapeka and travel for an hour or more to get home/work.

Are you suggesting a lower North Island airport to serve Kapiti/Horowhenua?

One thing to bear in mind about the current owners is that they don't have an obligation to run an airport in Kapiti or anywhere else. It's their land and under current laws if they want to let the grass grow, they can. There's nothing to stop the towns of Kapiti and Horowhenua banding together to build a new one in a suitable location. I think it would be way cheaper for KCDC to buy the current airport from the current owners for 10x what they sold it for in the 80s than build a new one. If they do that, KCDC ratepayers will be subsidising recreational fliers and the occasional commercial service though.

BTW, I'm in favour of further extension and electrification of the train service to the towns of Horowhenua. The train service is a great asset to Kapiti.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

frankv

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#2540218 13-Aug-2020 13:42

elpenguino:

When I live in Wellington I don't want to land at Pekapeka and travel for an hour or more to get home/work.

If you live in the Hutt Valley, you're probably an hour or more from the airport now. Following Transmission Gully's completion, it'll be quicker to get to Pekapeka than Rongotai. When I lived in Lower Hutt a few decades ago, it took longer to get to the airport by public transport than it took to fly to Sydney.

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2540221 13-Aug-2020 13:44

The other thing to consider is that if a new Wellington 'region' airport were to be built north of Paraparaumu, those that live in the Wairarapa have one heck of a commute to the Airport. Sure, you could drive it, but if we're going to spend billions for a new airport, why not spend a few more for rapid rail Wairarapa - Wellington - Kapiti, or just build a east\west link line too?

MikeAqua

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#2540222 13-Aug-2020 13:45

I suspect the future is even fewer provincial airports. I wonder about the future of Hamilton. Close to Tauranga, Rotorua and Auckland.

Mike

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elpenguino

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#2540245 13-Aug-2020 14:20

frankv:

elpenguino:

When I live in Wellington I don't want to land at Pekapeka and travel for an hour or more to get home/work.

If you live in the Hutt Valley, you're probably an hour or more from the airport now. Following Transmission Gully's completion, it'll be quicker to get to Pekapeka than Rongotai. When I lived in Lower Hutt a few decades ago, it took longer to get to the airport by public transport than it took to fly to Sydney.

One thing Wellington needs to do is extend the train system past the current train terminus. If it ran through/around the CDB to the airport I am sure many car trips would be avoided. There has been talk of extending it to Newtown hospital but that seems a weird choice to me. Of all the cities I have used the train, I never needed to visit the hospital but I sometimes needed to go to the airport.

I think the train also needs to extend onwards from the end of the line at Melling to take up growth in the area.

Back to the Kapiti situation, there is no public transport to Pekapeka so anything would have to be setup and TBH I just can't see the ratepayers of the area having the means to fund any of this. I also can't see the services flocking to use it when we've seen a complete drop away in services to regional airports like Kapiti, Whanganui, Whakatane, Kaitaia etc. Remember, Palmy is just up the road from Pekapeka.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

PolicyGuy

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#2540310 13-Aug-2020 15:50

elpenguino:

One thing to bear in mind about the current owners is that they don't have an obligation to run an airport in Kapiti or anywhere else. It's their land and under current laws if they want to let the grass grow, they can.

I'm not sure that's necessarily correct.

I have a dim recollection that the land was originally taken under the Public Works Act for the purposes of building an airfield.
If the land is no longer required as an airfield, there would be an argument that it should go back to the former owners ... or even to the original owners if different.
Waitangi Tribunal, anyone?

nztim

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#2540358 13-Aug-2020 17:14

MikeB4:

The land is probably more valuable subdivided for residential.

With transmission Gully open that could very well be feasable

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mattwnz

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#2540365 13-Aug-2020 17:41

I would have thought i was needed for redundancy incase of a big earthquake in Wellington, which may damage the Wellington Airport one due to where it is and how it came about.

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