Winston Aldworth: If Wellington builds it, they won't come

An Air New Zealand Airbus landing at Wellington International Airport. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Taxpayers should not be funding the extension of Wellington Airport's runway, writes Winston Aldworth.

I'm a big fan of Wellington. I finished my university years with a stint avoiding classes at Victoria University's Faculty of Law.

They bill themselves as "the coolest little capital in the world" (not a difficult benchmark to reach as many capital cities are famously dreary) and it's right that we promote the place to international visitors, many of whom would be pleasantly surprised by our capital.

But taxpayers should not be funding the extension of Wellington Airport's runway. The city's leaders want a longer runway. Of course they do. They probably want bigger limos, too. They say it's to join the longhaul boom, but I suspect there's a bit of classic Kiwi Provincial FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) going on as well.

Two longhaul airports - Auckland and Christchurch are enough. Arguably they're more than enough, Air New Zealand took the last of its longhaul services (to Tokyo) out of the South Island this year (instead basing the flight from Auckland. Other Asian airlines still connect directly into Christchurch.)

The national carrier's model is clear: Make Auckland the hub, then buzz passengers around on domestic flights.

The tourists our economy needs are ones who fly in and drive the length of the country, spending heavily along the way. A major airport in the middle plays to Wellington's ego, while ignoring the realities of the travel business.

There are two major airports in this part of the world: Auckland and Sydney. Wellington has its strengths as a tourist destination and needs to stick to them.