Source: Radio New Zealand
Originair has serviced Westport with an 18-seater Jetstream aircraft. Supplied
Buller’s mayor says it’s “devastating” Westport could lose its only air direct service.
Originair said the Wellington to Westport route is not commercially viable, asking central government to step in.
Buller District Council Mayor Chris Russell told Morning Report the service was a “lifeline connection” for isolated communities.
“The reality is that the route is just not economical which is quite devastating for us here in the Buller District.”
He said air travel could be the only way to evacuate if roads were cut off after a major earthquake or flooding.
“Losing the link, puts Buller and Northern Buller at risk of losing that connection in the event that something goes wrong, and we’ve got a business opportunities here too, particularly in Reefton, also mining in the Buller area too.”
Russell said it was a critical route, and in a major event coastal shipping is too slow, and an airport is vital.
“We’ll have to talk to government about that too, because keeping an airport open is not cheap either, and we are a small ratepayer base – so if we are not getting revenue to come in to help cover that, we have to ask the question of whether we go with it.”
Russell said the former mayor and staff had worked hard to bring Originair in after Sounds Air pulled out in 2024. He said he would be meeting with ministers late next week to discuss whether government support was possible.
Westport Airport. Nomad Audio and Video
Associate Transport Minister James Meager said in a statement that concessionary loans for regional airlines were available, but Originair had withdrawn its expression of interest for those loans.
He said the airline had expressed an interest in an alternate form of operational funding, which would require Cabinet to reconsider funding decisions.
Originair managing director Robert Inglis told Morning Report the route wasn’t economically viable, and concessionary loans for managing debt would not help in this case.
“They’re certainly not designed to support loss-making routes, and we’ve made that very clear to associate transport minister Meager, that we see absolutely no point in borrowing money to run a loss-making route.”
Inglis said it had been challenging operating the route with Buller district’s small population, and the company has had to reduce flights and increase fares.
He said the company had tried to operate a safe and reliable route for the past 15 months.
Recent fuel price shocks had not helped the airline’s challenges.
Meager said the government was keeping a watchful eye on the conflict through the newly established Ministerial Economic Security and Supply Chains Group.
“This provides strategic oversight and co-ordinated leadership to agencies to ensure a quick and effective response to any potential disruptions to petrol, diesel, and jet fuel supplies, as well as other key supply chains.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand