The country’s airports have been blindsided by a further review of their regulatory arrangements when they believe the party most requiring regulation is Air New Zealand on its regional domestic routes.
“We are disillusioned that the Government continues to focus its time and resource on airport regulations when there is overwhelming evidence that the domestic airline market requires focused attention,” the chief executive of the NZ Airports Association, Billie Moore, told BusinessDesk.
Particularly alarming for regional airports is the inclusion of Queenstown as one of a limited number of parties chosen for consultation by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
“Regional airports deal with the dominance of Air New Zealand in the market every day. They will not understand why even more focus on airport regulation is the choice the Government has decided to make. I have already heard from one airport concerned about their investment outreach due to the chilling effect of a further consultation that is so loosely framed,” said Moore.
