National and Labour stick to lobbying over keeping Kāpiti Airport open

National and Labour both want to keep the airport at Kāpiti Coast's Paraparaumu, but are limiting their efforts to advocacy - stopping short of direct government intervention to prevent it from being closed entirely.

The future of the privately-owned airport became an election issue late in the campaign for the hotly contested Kāpiti electorate, following revelations the airport's property developer owner, NZ PropCo, was reaching an agreement with a potential buyer.

The current owner is "engaging" with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) under section 40 of the Public Works Act, which required land no longer needed for public work to be offered back to its original owner or successor.

National MP Tim Costley said during a recent election debate held by the local chamber of commerce that there were two offers for the airport, including from Hāpai Property, a conglomerate of mostly out-of-Wellington iwi that wants to turn the land into housing - on the condition the airport was closed before the sale.

But that would require changing the district plan through the local Kāpiti Coast District Council to rezone the land from being an "Airport Zone".

A public meeting on the airport's future is being held on Thursday.

Costley and Labour Party candidate Sophie Handford agreed the airport should stay open, but both – and their parties' respective emergency management spokespersons – have only pledged to advocacy so far.

Costley called for lobbying to keep the airport land zoned as an "Airport Zone", but ruled out the Government buying the airport, which LifeFlight uses frequently when Wellington Airport is out of action for maintenance or in bad weather.

"We can remind the current (and any future) owners that they can sell the land but they can't change the zone to make money for their out-of-town shareholders at our local expense," he said.

"The current airport owners bought an airport knowing it was an airport and needed to stay an airport. Now is not the time to change this."

Handford said the council, residents and mana whenua should form a long-term plan for the airport, but the Government should have offered it more protection through the Emergency Management Act, which had listed 21 airports nationwide as essential - but not Kāpiti.

"With land elsewhere in Paraparaumu and the wider district already zoned for thousands of new homes, we don't need to give up this strategic site. But we can't simply hope for the best and leave the outcome to chance," she said.

Labour and National's respective emergency management spokespeople Cushla Tangaere-Manuel and Mark Mitchell did not answer questions from Local Democracy Reporting on whether they would commit to purchasing the airport to keep it open.

Tangaere-Manuel said the party supported having the long-term plan and the airport "should not be left solely to commercial interests to decide its future"; Mitchell referred questions to Costley, who he said was "championing the public's right to have a say on the future of the airport".

Sounds Air remains the only airline with scheduled flights from the Kāpiti Coast to Nelson and Blenheim, after Air Chathams suspended its Auckland service in late July.

Kāpiti Coast mayor Janet Holborow said in May the council could not afford to buy the airport, but would use anything available to keep it viable and attractive to future owners.

"The airport is an invaluable asset for Kāpiti and is critical to the district's growth and resilience. We remain committed to working with the landowners and doing what we can to help ensure it remains in operation."