Queenstown clear for Jetstar landings

Jetstar hopes to have a precision navigation system approved in June that will allow it to land in almost all weather in Queenstown.

The low-cost airline is now going through the final approval stage involving test flying with specially trained pilots into the ski town's airport which is notoriously difficult to land in during poor weather.

The Required Navigation Performance (RNP) allows pilots to use GPS technology to plot a safe course into the airport even when cloud is low.

Around 10 per cent of flights without the technology are diverted in poor weather but this drops as low as 1 per cent when planes are equipped with it, Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said.

Poor weather in Queenstown contributed to teething problems for the airline soon after it launched last June when delays there knocked-on.

On Thursday Jetstar celebrated filling one million seats in New Zealand since it started flying domestic routes here. Buchanan said the milestone was reached two months early.

Buying the millionth seat won an Auckland family a New Zealand holiday and the airline introduced a $19 fare sale over two days.

Jetstar is now the second largest airline in New Zealand, operating up to 84 weekly return services between Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown with a fleet of six A320 aircraft.