\u201cAs with our roading and rail infrastructure, the Government has a clear role to play in supporting access to safe and secure air services domestically and internationally for wider public benefit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the end of regionally operated routes reflected the need for greater investment from the Government.<\/p>\n
\u201cLoss of these routes rips out lifelines for our communities \u2013 literally in the case of Blenheim to Christchurch, a critical healthcare link for Marlborough people needing specialist treatment in Christchurch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealanders deserve access to safe, secure regional air connectivity now and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor says if flight reductions continue, longer-term infrastructure planning will be required. Photo \/ Marlborough District Council<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s suspension of additional routes is set to end on May 3, Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor was told by Air New Zealand.<\/p>\n
She told the Herald \u201cvolatile fuel prices\u201d made it difficult to gauge whether that deadline would be extended.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, she said the cuts \u201cwill have some impact and people will have to adjust some of their flight times accordingly\u201d.<\/p>\n
While the Marlborough District Council owns the Blenheim-based airport, she said it was \u201ccritical\u201d but not particularly profitable infrastructure for the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re going to see continued challenges in the air space or indeed loss of flights coming in, then it\u2019s going to make it even more difficult for regions like ours,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t ask ratepayers to subsidise it, so if this was going to be a long-term issue, then we would have to have a serious conversation with the Government about regional air and airport infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said air links are a \u201clifeline\u201d for her region and Air NZ had told her most travellers would still be able to fly the same day despite the cuts announced today.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth SH2 and SH35 road infrastructure insecurity has been an ongoing issue isolating our region and, as a result, our Air NZ service is an absolute lifeline to us,\u201d Stoltz said.<\/p>\n
The Marlborough District Council owns Woodbourne Airport, based in Blenheim. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
The airline contacted her last night before Thursday morning\u2019s announcement of cuts to flights in various parts of the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile it is an inconvenience, I\u2019m sure everyone will appreciate the situation in the Middle East is out of Air NZ\u2019s control and that they\u2019re trying to minimise the impact on their travellers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Air NZ has reassured her the majority of travellers would be accommodated on flights on the same day, and the cuts were temporary, Stoltz said.<\/p>\n
Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen was thankful to hear the cuts are not expected to affect his area for the time being.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a perfect storm. Global fuel prices, they\u2019ve had significant challenges with their fleet as far as engines and what have you, so we sort of understand the challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
He estimated about half of the travellers flying on routes in and out of Timaru were doing so for business. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf the regular number of flights weren\u2019t there, it would mean people would have to travel to Christchurch, perhaps stay in Christchurch, so it would certainly add cost and time to that business travel element, which would be challenging for some and add significant cost.\u201d<\/p>\n
Westland District Mayor Helen Lash says she is “grateful” her region hadn’t been affected by Air NZ’s cuts. Photo \/ Westland District Mayor<\/p>\n
Westland District Mayor Helen Lash said Air NZ\u2019s Hokitika route wasn\u2019t affected by the cuts because it was consolidating flights, which wasn\u2019t possible in a place with a single flight in and out each day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018Oh God, here we go with the chop\u2019, [when Air NZ announced cuts] but then I read we weren\u2019t affected.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019d also spoken to Air NZ.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not touching us at the moment because there is no other option. We\u2019re incredibly grateful for that because Air New Zealand is our lifeline here on the coast.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the future remained uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there a crystal ball for this war and what\u2019s happening? No, there\u2019s not. At this stage we\u2019re not part of that consolidation, but should things carry on for some time \u2026 we may be at risk. But there\u2019s [also] still fat in the system for more consolidation than what Air New Zealand has announced today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAs with our roading and rail infrastructure, the Government has a clear role to play in supporting access…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[175602,2840,74,68,696,1558,12505,10666,70,6562,71,3273,305,22772,101,34590,17250,118563,117,111,43,139,69,5914,8814,109209,10510,26697,6923,80],"class_list":["post-325605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-175602","tag-across","tag-after","tag-air","tag-announced","tag-been","tag-cancellation","tag-cuts","tag-flight","tag-flights","tag-from","tag-future","tag-have","tag-holds","tag-left","tag-lifeline","tag-mayors","tag-motu","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-regional","tag-routes","tag-threaten","tag-waiting","tag-warn","tag-what","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}