Gisborne air traffic control jobs to stay

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

The jobs of Gisborne’s air traffic controllers have been saved, following an assessment of staffed services here.

In 2020, national air traffic control provider Airways New Zealand announced an intention to change or withdraw air traffic control services at a number of regional airports, including five positions in Gisborne.

That led to an outcry from local pilots and the New Zealand Air Line Pilots Association.

Representatives from Gisborne Airport  formed a working group with two other affected airports — Hawke’s Bay and New Plymouth — to better understand the implications of Airways’ proposal.

Yesterday, Airways confirmed staffed services would continue here.

“Gisborne Airport was part of a review of regional airports undertaken by Airways in 2020. However, following a thorough assessment process involving numerous stakeholders, services have remained at the airports involved in the review,” a spokeswoman said.

“As outlined in our annual report, (released last week) technology is driving fundamental changes in aircraft operations, the architecture of airspace and the delivery of our services.

“This in turn is facilitating changes to ensure we can safely integrate new types of aircraft into controlled airspace.

“Digital towers are a solution being implemented at airports globally and we are exploring how we may be able to utilise this technology in future, but there is still a lot of work to be done before we implement this at any of our locations.

“There are no plans to move Gisborne Tower to a digital service at this time.”