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New Zealand’s annual airports and aviation sector conference has wrapped last week, with Wellington, Hamilton and North Shore Airports taking the top sector awards.
The NZ Airports Hui 2024 was held at Claudelands in Hamilton from November 11-14, bringing together a record number of delegates, exhibitors and speakers from New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the Pacific.
This year’s Hui attracted three major international speakers:
*Captain Billy Nolen, chief regulatory affairs officer for Archer Aviation and former
head of the Federal Aviation Administration
*Stephen Forshaw, Airbus chief representative for Australia, New Zealand and the
Pacific
*Dr Navneet Garg, programme manager of the National Airport Pavement and
Materials Research Center at the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Aviation shrinks the world,” says NZ Airports chief executive Billie Moore.
“For New Zealand, air connectivity is critical to our economic and social prosperity.
“Our discussions this week have highlighted the challenges New Zealand is facing to maintain and grow our connectivity. In particular, aircraft constraints are contributing to domestic route withdrawals and a drop in consumer confidence to travel. We are also lagging behind other countries in our international tourism recovery.
“At the same time, the future shows extraordinary promise – and it is coming at us fast.
“Captain Billy Nolen took us through the imminent launch of Archer’s commercial air taxi operations in the US, planned for 2025, and the variety of use cases for eVTOLs that could be facilitated by airports. And BETA Technology, Air New Zealand and Wellington and Marlborough Airports shared their latest insights from the Mission Next Gen electric aircraft project.
“The future will bring us smaller, zero-emissions aircraft well suited to New Zealand’s needs. If we can work through our current constraints and embrace this new technology, we can deliver transformative benefits to New Zealand’s economy and social connectivity.
“That means making a plan now to foster the right infrastructure and regulatory investment. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Our speakers pointed out there’s no mention of aviation in the discussion document for the National Infrastructure Plan. That’s alarming when this sector is so critical to our country, and when technology is moving so fast.”
The NZ Airports Awards were presented on Wednesday night at a Hobbiton-themed gala
dinner with the generous support of Beca and Hobbiton Movie Set. Awards were presented
for the year’s best infrastructure, community engagement, commercial and sustainability
projects, as well as Emerging Leader of the Year and Airports of the Year.
“Our three airports of the year in our large, medium and small airport categories are fantastic examples of airports as community-focused regional infrastructure.
“North Shore Airport is setting the standard for community engagement, and its work on the Auckland International Pilot Academy shows its commitment to fostering the next generation of pilots.
“Hamilton Airport’s return to international services is just one project that shows its team’s
dedication to delivering for the Waikato region. Its comprehensive sustainability strategy, and work on commercial expansion through Titanium Park, also stood out to the judges this year.
“Wellington Airport is a leader in innovation, always ready to be a first mover on projects that will improve the customer experience, such as its investment in LiDAR technology to reduce queuing times. As a host airport for Air New Zealand’s BETA ALIA electric aircraft alongside Marlborough Airport, it will continue to show future-focused leadership for the airport network.”
“It’s very cool to have this recognition and reflects a lot of hard work and achievements from our team over the last year,” says Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke.
“We’re pretty chuffed given the awards were decided by an independent panel of industry experts who know their stuff.
“We pride ourselves on being innovative, agile and having a sense of fun too.
“This year we’ve had some big sustainability wins including a trial of hydrogen, receiving our first shipment of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, and winning the right to co-host New Zealand’s first all-electric aircraft service.
“There’s a lot of new exciting projects coming up as well which travellers are going to really enjoy.”
Julie Southall, commercial and projects manager at Rotorua Airport, was named Emerging
Leader of the Year.
“Congratulations to all the nominees and award winners, and to all the Hui contributors for
making the event so special once again this year.”
The NZ Airports 2024 Award winners were:
Large Airport Infrastructure – Auckland International Airport Transport Hub
Medium Airport Infrastructure – Hawke’s Bay Airport: Apron Reseal
Small Airport Infrastructure – Whanganui Airport & Fulton Hogan: Runway Resurfacing
Large Airport Commercial and Non-Aeronautical – Christchurch International Airport
for the Dakota Park freight and logistics precinct
Medium Airport Commercial and Non-Aeronautical – Invercargill Airport for the
management of Milford Airport
Small Airport Commercial and Non-Aeronautical – North Shore Airport for the Auckland
International Pilot Academy and Auckland Pilot Training
Large Airport Environmental Sustainability – Wellington International Airport and
Marlborough Airport for hosting New Zealand’s first all-electric aircraft trial
Medium Airport Environmental Sustainability – Hamilton Airport: solar farm and
sustainability strategies
Special Recognition for Sector Leadership in Sustainability – Air New Zealand for the
Mission Next Gen programme
Large Airport Community Engagement – Wellington International Airport for the
Community Regional Awards
Medium Airport Community Engagement – Rotorua Airport for the Matariki Dinner
Small Airport Community Engagement – North Shore Airport: Airport Open Day
Large Airport of the Year – Wellington International Airport
Medium Airport of the Year – Hamilton Airport
Small Airport of the Year – North Shore Airport
Emerging Leader of the Year – Julie Southall, Commercial and Projects Manager at
Rotorua Airport
