Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Cath O'Brien: Board of Airline Representatives Executive Director on the Ōhakea Air Force based being greenlit as an alternative runway for commercial planes

Transcript

Cath O'Brien: Board of Airline Representatives Executive Director on the Ōhakea Air Force based being greenlit as an alternative runway for commercial planes · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Control tower at a Harkia Air Base is soon going
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: to operate twenty four to seven, making it the country's
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: official back up airport right now. As you will know
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: from listening to this show, long haul flights have to
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: carry an extra six tons of fuel just in case
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Auckland Airport closes and they're force to divert. Same with
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: christ Church. Cath O'Brien bought of airline reps is with
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: us this morning. Kath, good morning, Good morning Ryan. And
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: it wasn't long ago we were talking about this bit
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: of common sense.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Here, Ah, some great common sense here. Airlines are delighted
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: to hear this news today from the Minister and it's
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: really gonna unlock some value for the aviation system in
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: New Zealand.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: What happens I was thinking about this this morning. So
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: if a plane diverts, has to divert to a Harkier
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: in the middle of the night, what happens to all
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: the passengers in the Harky? Do they go stay in Bulls.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Or what we Hacke operates. That's what we call a
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: gas and go destination. So that's in the name. So
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: an aircraft will come in, it will be refueled and
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: moll then be able to continue on its way. And
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: the reason that's important is because long haul airlines are operating,
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: you know, obviously at a great distance when they come
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: to New Zealand, and when they reach their destination, they
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: really don't have a lot to go on. And so
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: we have to have, you know, an airport that's capable
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: of receiving that aircraft if it needs to desert away
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: from its primary destination and give it some gas and
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: get it on its way, all right.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: So no one actually gets to stay in Bulls.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: I'm disappointed, it's certainly not the plan. No, we'll still
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: get you, get you where you're going.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: And why do you what's taken so long? I mean
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: you've been going on about this for a while now,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: haven't you.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I have spoken to you a
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: few times about it, and it's certainly been something I've
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: st spoken extensively to officials and to the Minister about.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: And really it was just about getting everybody to understand
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: the importance and to find an arrangement that we could
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: that we could get that air travel control underway. And
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: I'm really glad we have.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: When you say arrangement, it's all it's a funded by
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the government.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Well, actually airlines are fund nomination for hark Here. So
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: certainly airlines are already paying substantial cost to nominato hark Here,
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: and those those funds do pay for Semetha Trever control
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: as well and for use of the base. And so
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: certainly airlines are already contributing in large part. And this
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: is just the very last piece of the puzzle, if
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: you like. For that for the overnight air traffic control,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: we're going to have.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: The air traffic controllers to do it. I was speaking
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: to a training the other day who said, we're sort
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: of running short, We've got gaps.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, certainly that's a global problem, and I'm confident
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: that Airways New Zealand will be able to manage this need.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: I understand they already have the training needs kind of
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: in the in the plan and they'll be able to
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: deliver this by mid twenty twenty seven.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: All right, Kath, appreciate your Times Morning. Cath O'Brien brought
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: an airline rep for more.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: From early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live to news talks.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: It'd be from five am weekdays. Follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.