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There was a distinct buzz in the air when Chatham Islanders gathered at their airport for an announcement on Sunday. The press release to announce a $40 million cash boost was embargoed but the folks present had a pretty strong inkling they were in the money when the location for the announcement was revealed. It was a pretty jubilant crowd, says Mayor Monique Croon. Most of the money - $36 million - will go towards making their tiny Tuuta Airport longer and stronger. The 1400m runway will be extended by a further 400m. That means the local airline - Air Chathams - will eventually be able to upgrade their 1950s Convair 580 craft to 737s, cutting the travel time from Wellington to less than an hour and increasing capacity for passengers and freight, Croon hopes. More modern aircraft also meant a more reliable service for the island’s population of 663, she says. The grunty 60-plus-year-old Convair aircraft cannot land in fog or mist and it’s not uncommon for weather to close the airport and leave passengers and much-needed freight, like groceries for locals, stranded on the mainland for days. Air Chathams is already planning to introduce the 68-seat ART-72 in October once its long-range navigation equipment has been adapted to meet requirements for the route. But a longer runway will mean it can take a bigger payload of passengers and freight - a crucial development for the island’s tourism and export markets. Covid has been terrible in many ways but the Government’s shovel-ready fund had been a blessing for the island, Air Chathams chief operating officer Duane Emeny says. The need to fly bigger craft with capacity for much bigger payload was long overdue, he says. If the tourism and export market plays ball, he hoped to introduce 737s into their fleet by 2023. Air Chathams has been hurting since Covid reduced their flight schedule from 120 flights a week to the Chathams, Norfolk Island and various mainland destinations, to a paltry six flights. That’s a tough reality for a small, family-owned business. The silver lining of the more than five year battle for the runway project was that it had united the sometimes divided community in a common goal, says Emeny. The island, situated 800km east of the mainland, has been reeling from the Governments’ rejection of the airport upgrade under the Provincial Growth Fund last year. Croon says they had hoped to piggy-back the airport project onto the $50 million upgrade of its wharf in 2018. “We had been lobbying the government to fund the airport project on the back of the wharf because we had all the equipment here to just get on with it but it wasn’t to be.” The airport project will create at least 20 local jobs and a further spin-off of around 230 jobs in tourism jobs, Croon says. A tender process for the design and build will happen as soon as possible but it’s anticipated the new runway will be open by 2022. Maui Solomon, executive chairman of the Hokoteh  Moriori Trust, says Chatham Island was playing ‘catch-up’ with other mainland regions in terms of infrastructure developments. If tourism ramped up, much work would need to go on improving roads, additional accommodation and better internet connection, which was patchy at best. He hoped the development of the airport and the airline might mean cheaper airfares out to the Chathams, which can currently set you back north of $800 for a return fare. Current fares can be a barrier to tourists who could pay the same for a beach holiday in the Pacific, he says. But don’t hold your breath for cut-price fares. Emeny says it might be some time. With a Boeing 737, they would increase their payload departing the Chathams by an additional 6000KG. “Provided we have grown the market sufficiently by the time an aircraft like that is introduced then it could allow the airline to reduce rates for passengers and cargo.” The $40 million package announced by Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones, would also go into developing the shellfish aquaculture industry, creating a further 20 jobs. It would fund a dedicated tourism manager, help restore indigenous flora and fauna to a coastal area that has been cleared and grazed for more than 100 years, and improve electricity capacity on the island. NZ Airports Chief Executive Kevin Ward said the Chathams produces fantastic seafood but the problem has always been getting it to customers. The runway upgrade will allow bigger and faster aircraft to be used. The upgraded runway will be Boeing 737 capable – more than three times the weight of the current Convair aircraft – and will set the airport up for the next 50 years.

Source : https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300072760/chatham-islanders-welcome-40m-windfall--and-shorter-flights-to-the-mainland