Kāpiti Coast airport to close on November 30

Kāpiti Coast airport is closing on November 30, marking the end of more than eight decades of aircraft operations.

A spokesperson for the airport's owner, property developer NZPropCo, told RNZ it would close at 7pm on November 30, and until then would "continue to operate under its existing certificate and safety requirements".

The airport did not respond to numerous requests for comment.

Earlier, it told Sounds Air that flights are terminated from November 30, the same day the Kāpiti Aero Club had been asked to surrender the lease for airport-based clubrooms, amid escalating speculation about the airport's fate.

Sounds Air flies to Nelson and Blenheim. Its managing director, Andrew Crawford, was told by the airport's holding company that the last flight would be on November 30 and the airport would not make any public announcements or comments.

The Kāpiti Aero Club said on Thursday the airport's holding company had requested it to surrender the existing lease, which runs through to 2033, by November 30 – and to vacate by February 28. It would be short notice for the club of 13 staff, 250 members and 50 student pilots to re-locate its fleet of more than 10 light aircraft elsewhere.

In October, Local Democracy Reporting reported that NZPropCo struck a deal with a potential buyer and was following a process under the Public Works Act which required land no longer needed for public work to be offered back to its original owner or successor.

The airport's origins dated back to 1939, when the Government forcibly took the land where the airport sits from the Puketapu hapū of Te Āti Awa ki Kāpiti to build a military aerodrome for the war effort under the Public Works Act.

The aero club was "exploring all avenues" to secure its future and was taking legal advice in response to the request, a statement said earlier on Thursday.

"Loss of the airport would pose a potential threat to the safety and wellbeing of the residents of the region in times of civil emergency by depriving the population of critical infrastructure and resources when they are needed most."

Crawford said passengers booked on flights after November 30 would be moved to Wellington or offered refunds.