Editor's note: You can read our latest story on the Tūrangi Aerodrome here:
Chris Marshall
It may be a bad pun, but the future of the Tūrangi Aerodrome is up in the air.
Bureaucratic oversight of who is responsible for operational compliance at the aerodrome, liability, leases, sub-leases, land ownership change and parties not talking to each other early enough appear as manifest issues.
However, Taupō District Councillor Sandra Greenslade, who represents the Tūrangi-Tongariro Ward, is adamant that the southern lake town will keep its airfield.
And the latest information available to Lake FM suggests the field has been thrown a lifeline.
Greenslade says while it's a complex situation, the people of Tūrangi and Te Kotahitanga o Nga Tūwharetoa (TKNT), the settlement trust working through the process of passing the approximately 50 hectares of land back to whanau, and the Tūrangi Aero Club which sub-leases about 1500m2 of the TDC's 5.6 leased hectares, are all keen to see an aerodrome remain.
How that gets resolved is yet to be sorted. The Taupō Airport Authority (TAA) was due to meet today (Monday) to receive an update from Taupō Airport general manager Wayne Wootton that the aerodrome would be deactivated from this Thursday.
The Taupō District Council's lease on the land from TKNT expires on Friday, and it is not looking to renew it.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has confirmed this deactivation. Still, due to its enquiries late last week and over the weekend, Lake FM now understands the deactivation notice has been amended to a change of named operator as part of the process of the TAA working with the aero club and CAA to find a solution.
How did it get to this?
A latter-day realisation that the TAA was the named operator of the non-certificated aerodrome was cited as a reason for the council's intention (firmed up at an urgent workshop in December last year) not to continue supporting the aerodrome.
Being the operator meant the TAA and Taupō airport management had responsibilities and liabilities with the CAA for any issues that contravened aerodrome operational compliance.
Previously, the TAA assumed it was only required to make quarterly inspections to ensure that the airfield was operationally safe, while the council assisted with things like regular grass mowing.
Notes outlining the December workshop say it was evident that councillors were unaware of the liability that came from operating a remote aerodrome with no visibility or jurisdiction over its day-to-day management.
"Elected members felt that they could not ask council officers and TAA management to carry any risks that they were not comfortable with and had a strong desire to cease involvement as soon as possible," the notes record.
They also record that at least one councillor expressed the view that aerodromes were assets and that the lease should be extended for a few months to enable more discussion.
According to Greenslade, talking with Jesse Archer of Lake FM, this support came from Mayor David Trewavas.
"He did say to the councillors, 'Are you sure that this is what you want to happen?' And they were very sure that that was what they wanted to happen. So, I was displeased would be a polite way of saying it, and I think it spurred me on even more to make sure, go out there, get support, get Tūrangi people in behind, and stop this from happening."
While any future lease arrangements have yet to be worked out, at the workshop in December, it was noted that the landowners had met directly with the aero club and were prepared to extend the arrangement for a short period.
In December, Amy Walker, Ngāti Tūrangitukua, explained that the owners had not decided what they would do with the whenua yet, and various options would be explored. It was unclear if they wanted to continue with the aerodrome, as they were unsure what was involved and needed to understand this further.
So where are we now?
Says Greenslade: "It's really, really important that we understand that the whanau who will own this airfield in the months to come, it's going to be entirely their decision, how they run it, how they operate it, what they do, who's involved in it… This is just an interim measure to make sure that the airfield doesn't close and that we can keep it open until the point where the people who own that land can make their decisions and do what they need to do themselves.
It doesn't matter who actually owns it as far as the CAA is concerned. To them, it's just important that somebody is responsible for it and can actually make sure that things are how they ought to be."
She thinks the council forgot to consult with TKNT but says the aero club has a retired pilot qualified to take over the responsibility of being the aerodrome operator and who is acceptable to the CAA.
"So my understanding again is that CAA has been advised that the airport will not be closing, and it will be handed over to the Tūrangi Aero Club in the meantime while the change of title takes place. So, we could have done that a few months ago; in fact, we probably could have done it a year ago, so I'm not sure why it didn't happen, but at the end of the day, the Tūrangi airfield is not going to close."
For its part, the council says it, through the TAA, had been negotiating with the Tūrangi Aerodrome landowner, TKNT, since 2023 regarding the possible continuation of the lease for the aerodrome.
The statement noted that "we are continuing to work with TKNT and the CAA on the possibility of a third party becoming the new named operator. "
"This matter currently sits with the CAA and the third party, and the TAA has been working with all concerned parties to assist with the transition. The TAA will be on hand to ensure a smooth changeover to the new operator and will continue to support the aerodrome's operation until June."
However, as late as Friday, the CAA was still communicating that the "TAA had formally notified the CAA of the disestablishment of Turangi Aerodrome on February 27, 2025. Until then, the aerodrome and runway remain active...
"The CAA is aware of a third party currently discussing taking over the aerodrome operation from TAA, and these discussions are ongoing. The CAA is not, nor would we expect, to be involved in such decisions."
Watch this (air) space.
TKNT has also been approached for comment on this story.
