A $4.9 million upgrade is planned for Rotorua Airport, this for a council controlled organisation that made only $414,000 profit last year, ie less than 1 per cent of its book value of $47 million.
Why does an upgrade of the fire station and earthquake proofing of the terminal need to be extended to 'go the whole hog'. Who will pay? We're told it will be funded using "existing financial facilities while continuing to pay off debt". Does this mean the existing enormous debt will continue to be paid off but a new loan taken out from a different source? A bit like people who have multiple credit cards through which to shuffle debt.
In the last few months I've been through Rotorua Airport several times at different times of the day. It seems alright to me; not too crowded, plenty of room given the size of planes using it and Mokoia Island will look the same regardless of windows. At no time did I see large groups of tourists. What we do see in the district is bus loads of tourists and campervans probably hired from Auckland. Makes sense given Auckland is the main port of entry for the North Island. Who wants to transfer to the domestic terminal then wait for a connecting flight to Rotorua? Yes, tourist numbers will increase. So will the number of buses and campervans, but I can't envisage airport patronage increasing that significantly. We don't need grandiose ideas and get too big for our boots again.
PADDI HODGKISS
Rotorua
Don't panic! Donald Trump is a rebel; he is wild, woolly and strong willed; he had upset a few people and scared the heck out of many more but let us look at the plus side.
