Kapiti Airport should be saved; we don’t want out-of-town developers trying to make a buck off the back of Kapiti locals.
News that the owner of Kapiti Airport, Kapiti Airport Holdings Limited, advised Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) it no longer wishes to operate the airport is the worst news and a day locals have been hoping wouldn’t come.
Our airport is critical in emergencies. It is listed in the civil defence plan as a ‘major hub of operations.’ LifeFlight planes use it frequently when Wellington airport is closed due to maintenance, weather or wind. Without Kapiti Airport they would have to drive patients from Palmerston North.
Our community have a voice in this decision: it’s privately owned but publicly zoned. The current District Plan lists the airport as an ‘Airport Zone’ and not for housing. For anyone to change that it needs to go through council and our community’s voice has been clear: we don’t want a change to the zone.