Tauranga MASTER PLAN 2030 June 2009 Airport 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Contents 2 AIRPORT DESCRIPTION 3 3 FORECASTS AND DEMAND 8 4 PLANNING PARAMETERS 16 5 INFRASTRUCTURE 22 6 MASTER PLAN 27 TAURANGA AIRPORT MASTER PLAN UPDATE 10423R01G_MP UPDATE.DOC KL 9/09/2010 1.1. Background Tauranga City Airport is a significant strategic asset for the City of 1 Introduction Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty region. The Airport is centrally located in the city area and has a sizeable land holding of 225 hectares, of which some is leased for non-aeronautical commercial and industrial uses. Subheadingt The Airport is the third-busiest general aviation (GA) centre in New Zealand (after Ardmore and Hamilton) and there have been significant investments made in GA facilities. The Airport has one main sealed runway and three grass runways, as well as a link taxiway and apron servicing a moderate sized terminal area. The Port of Tauranga (seaport) is an immediate neighbour to the west of the Airport and is also undoubtedly a crucial strategic asset for the city, community and wider hinterland. Development plans for the port have the potential to be in conflict with the Airport’s operations and longer term development, principally through the possible need for port cranes to operate in areas where they would protrude through the Airport’s obstacle limitation surfaces, close to the Runway 07 approach surface. A pragmatic solution is desirable which would allow both ports to operate in harmonious co-existence. There have been recent studies investigating whether Tauranga Airport should be relocated to a new site, possibly serving as a joint regional airport with Rotorua and Whakatane. However, the studies have not demonstrated the financial feasibility of a joint regional airport and Tauranga Airport therefore recognises that it must continue to plan for its future, to cater for the needs of the users and the community. Tauranga Airport Authority (TAA) prepared its first Master Plan in 2005 to guide its development over a planning horizon of some twenty years. 1.2. Objective The broad objective of this study is to assist TAA with strategic master planning by updating the Airport’s 2005 Master Plan to a new planning horizon of 2030 The need for the Master Plan update is driven by a number of factors which include: The desire on the part of the TAA to have a clear and logical road map for the long-term development and management of the Airport TAURANGA AIRPORT 1 MASTER PLAN UPDATE 10423R01G_MP UPDATE.DOC KL 9/09/2010 The need to bring together recent planning work for the terminal building, landside, access roads and commercial areas into an integrated plan Growth in passenger traffic Growth in general aviation activity Changing aviation regulatory and operational environments The need to review the status of current and projected aircraft noise exposure compared with District Plan provisions The need to anticipate future investment requirements at the Airport, as the infrastructure ages. 1.3. Consultation A workshop was held on 3 September 2008 with the Airport Board. The workshop session provided an opportunity for reviewing key aspects of the 2005 Tauranga Master Plan and consideration of most aspects of the Master Plan updating process, including reviewing of: Previous demand projections Previous forecasts Constraints and issues Traffic mix Steps to manage general aviation (GA) growth and noise Noise contours A further briefing on the draft Master Plan was given to the TAA Board on 16 March 2009. TAURANGA AIRPORT 2 MASTER PLAN UPDATE 10423R01G_MP UPDATE.DOC KL 9/09/2010 2.1. Introduction Tauranga Airport is located approximately 4 kilometres east of the 2 Airport Tauranga City centre on coastal land adjoining Tauranga Harbour. The Airport was opened in 1936 with scheduled passenger services commencing in 1946. The present main runway was constructed in 1967 and extended to its current length in 1998. Air traffic movements totalled Description approximately 106,000 movements for 2008. Subheadingt N Mount Maunganui Tauranga Harbour Seaport Tauranga Airport City Centre FIGURE ‎2-1 AIRPORT LOCATION 2.2. Airport Vision TAA’s vision as stated in the Tauranga Airport Strategic Plan (2003-2006) is: ―To successfully operate a commercially viable Airport which is recognised as a centre for excellent airport transport services, related facilities and other services‖ The Airport sees its key areas of impact as: Tourism TAURANGA AIRPORT 3 MASTER PLAN UPDATE 10423R01G_MP UPDATE.DOC KL 9/09/2010 Environment Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch through its subsidiaries Eagle Business (aviation and commercial) Airways and Air Nelson. Transport Tauranga Airport is also the base for Sunair which operates scheduled services in the north and east of the North Island and has plans to open Employment new routes. Sunair also has charter and pilot training operations. Education The Airport is also used periodically by the New Zealand military for IFR Recreation. training. Within Tauranga and the greater Western Bay of Plenty region, TAA is A number of small charter and flying training operations are also based at expected to play an increasingly important role in supporting growth and the Airport along with maintenance providers and the Tauranga Aero Club. development in the key areas of: Within the Western Bay of Plenty region, the Airport can be seen as an Adding value to the economy important link between Tauranga City and the wider region, to national and, through New Zealand’s international airports, international business Being commercially successful interests. The Airport plays a significant role as an arrival or departure Providing for needs of travellers point for tourism to the region, as well as being home to flightseeing Being a centre for aeronautical business. companies. 2.3. Airport Ownership As home to a large number of GA aircraft, Tauranga Airport is the third The business of TAA is wholly owned by the Tauranga City Council (TCC). busiest GA Airport in New Zealand. The Airport is vital to the fulfilment of The Airport operates as a business unit within the Council, governed by a the Tauranga City Council’s “Live, Work and Play” vision, providing a Board consisting of two councillor and three non-councillor members. recreational outlet for many aviation enthusiasts. Airport land ownership, however, is shared between the Western Bay of A significant current activity at the Airport includes recreational flying Plenty District Council, Tauranga City Council (TCC) (formerly the operations in microlight aircraft and gliders. Due to their dependency on Tauranga District Council – TDC) and the Crown. prevailing winds, movements by these types are generally restricted to periods when there are a low number of powered aircraft movements. Crown land and jointly acquired land is vested in Trust in the Tauranga City However, powered aircraft are sometimes restricted when gliders and Council as a local purpose reserve for ―Airport or associated aviation microlights need to land. In the future, as traffic at the Airport grows there purposes‖. may, as a consequence, need to be limitations placed on glider and The majority of the Airport land is subject to a claim or various claims microlight operations at the Airport. before the Waitangi Tribunal. The Airport also accommodates helicopter activity. Some 10 helicopters 2.4. Airport Role are based at the Airport (including Squirrel and Robinson R22 types) used 2.4.1. Aircraft Operations for fire fighting, training and recreation. Tauranga Airport fulfils various roles within the overall New Zealand 2.5. Commercial Activities aviation system as well as within the Tauranga City, Western Bay of Plenty Due to its adjacency to the important Mount Maunganui industrial area to (BoP) and the local Tauranga communities. The Airport’s role is, in part, the north of the Airport and availability of Airport land to the north of the defined by the customers/activities that use the airport. main runway and passenger terminal area, TAA has been successful in On a national scale, Tauranga Airport is part of Air New Zealand Link’s diversifying and growing its revenues to partially off-set costs for aviation domestic network. Air New Zealand operates scheduled services to users through non-aeronautical commercial property operations. TAURANGA AIRPORT 4 MASTER PLAN UPDATE 10423R01G_MP UPDATE.DOC KL 9/09/2010 The majority of these involve the provision of land space (via ground of the Airport is defined as accommodating domestic services only, along leases) to commercial businesses which have developed their own with general aviation (fixed wing and helicopter) operations. premises and facilities. 2.6. Runways The current commercially leased areas on Tauranga Airport are illustrated Tauranga Airport has four runways, one main sealed runway and three on Figure ‎2-2 and are categorised in the following zones, based on the $ grass runways, a link taxiway and apron serving the passenger terminal. per square metre lease rate. Zone 1, with Hewletts Road frontage The main runway is a non-instrument Code 4 runway, by virtue of its length commands the highest lease rate, while Zones 2 and 3 command lower exceeding 1800m. rates, primarily due to the lack of main road frontage. Key features of Tauranga Airport’s runways are summarised in Table ‎2-1. Current occupants include the following: Zone 1 – car dealers, petrol station, Turners Auctions, caravan sales, carpet retailer, hire company, boat sales, construction company. Take-off distance (m) Zones 2 and 3 – Bunnings, Amcor Packaging, Asado Food Runway Surface Width ASDA LDA (m) Manufacturing, self storage, Firestone, indoor go-carts. 1:20 1:50 1:62.5 07/25 Bitumen 45 1,825 1,885 1,885 1,825 07/25 Grass 60 775 775 775 04/22 Grass 60 640 640 640 16/34 Grass 45 700 700 700 TABLE ‎2-1 RUNWAY SUMMARY Source: AIP NZ December 2007 Glossary: ASDA = Accelerate Stop Distance Available LDA = Landing Distance Available Figure ‎2-3 shows the key facilities on the existing Airport layout including the four runways and the location of the installed navigational aids – Non- Directional Beacon (NDB) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME).