Kapiti Coast Airport faces possible closure as locals and MPs rally to save it

Residents of New Zealand's Kapiti Coast gathered at a public meeting in Paraparaumu to oppose the proposed closure of the privately owned Kapiti Coast Airport. The meeting was organised by local National MP Tim Costley, who said closure could come as soon as the end of November.

Developer Templeton Group, the airport's largest shareholder, said it has a conditional sale and purchase agreement under which the airport is required to close. The airport's current owners do not want to operate it as an airport. Formerly Paraparaumu Aerodrome, it was selected as an alternative airport for Wellington in 1938 and used by the military during World War II. It was privatised in 1995 and has changed hands several times since.

Sounds Air is the only airline operating scheduled flights there, after Air Chathams stopped services in July because of rising operating costs. Kapiti Aero Club uses the airport for flight training and has 256 members, including 67 juniors. A club spokesperson said that if the airport closes there will be no flight training on the Kapiti Coast. The alternatives are Ōtaki Airstrip, which is not big enough, or Foxpine Airpark, an hour away in Manawatū.

Pilot Hugh Steed said medical flights divert to the airport when Wellington's curfew causes problems. Local resident Jill Walters said an emergency flight for a liver transplant from the airport saved her life.

Associate Minister of Transport James Meager said the government does not want the airport closed and hopes the parties can reach an outcome that protects it and supports continued commercial aviation.

Labour's Kapiti candidate Sophie Handford, who attended the meeting, also said she wants the airport retained and is willing to discuss its future across party lines.

Kapiti Coast Airport shows how exposed privately held regional airfields are when the owners' interest lies in the land rather than the runway. Ministers and local MPs can voice support, but a conditional sale agreement that requires closure is a commercial contract, and the political statements so far express hopes rather than any mechanism that would override it.

For a coastal region the loss falls on several functions at once. Scheduled service sits with a single carrier, Sounds Air, since Air Chathams withdrew in July citing rising operating costs. Flight training for a 256-member club has no nearby substitute, as the nearest alternatives are an airstrip that is too small and one an hour away. Wellington's curfew is the reason medical flights divert here, so a closure removes a relief option for urgent flights. Fixed infrastructure of this kind is hard to rebuild once the land is redeveloped.

The next dated point is the end of November, the earliest closure date cited. The sale agreement is described as conditional, so what settles the question is whether those conditions are met, and whether the cross-party talks that Handford and Meager both signalled produce an arrangement that keeps the airport operating.