New director appointed to Nelson Airport Limited board

Nelson Airport Ltd has welcomed a new director to its board with the appointment of Chartered Accountant Darren Mark.

This follows a recruitment search and appointment by the Council shareholders, Nelson City and Tasman District. Long-serving directors, Chair Paul Steere and Deputy Chair Catherine Taylor, complete their service at this year’s Annual Shareholders’ meeting in October.  A further new director will be announced nearer that time.

Board Chair Paul Steere says Darren is a proud Nelson local, who brings strong strategic, financial and risk management skills to the role.

“We're delighted to have Darren join the board and I know the airport will benefit from his knowledge and experience, as well as his constructive and collegial style of governance.”

Darren grew up Nelson and attended NMIT, gained his academic qualifications enabling him to gain admittance to Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand.

Darren’s career has spanned roles with PWC, West Yates, WHK , Crowe Horwath and Findex. He is the former Managing Principal of Findex Nelson and a current client-facing Business Advisory Services Senior Partner. He is a member of the Findex (Nelson) Principals Governing board, a trustee of the Tasman Bays Heritage Trust and sits on the Waimea College Board of trustees. He also sits on and chairs a number of client company boards as part of his day to day role. Darren was admitted as a Chartered Director to the Institute of Directors in 2019.

Darren is excited to contribute to the future of Nelson’s gateway to the world.

“The Airport fulfils a critical role in our community, connecting our residents and businesses with the rest of New Zealand and the world. It’s a key enabler for our regional tourism industry. I’m looking forward to playing a role in ensuring locals and visitors continue to benefit from the provision of world-class aviation infrastructure in Te Tauihu.”

Winter Update from Nelson Airport

Kia ora koutou

It’s been a busy period at the Airport since our autumn update. In May we announced our plans for a future extension of our runway. The existing runway is one of the shortest in the world catering for the type of aircraft operating at Nelson, leading to payload restrictions for airlines in certain weather conditions. It’s also unlikely to meet the needs of future zero-emissions aircraft. We intend to be in the best possible position to embrace the low-emissions future of aviation and we believe extending the runway will be key to our ability to host next generation aircraft in Nelson-Tasman.

While the extension is still 10 to 15 years away, we need to start planning now to provide certainty for the Airport, our neighbours and the wider Nelson-Tasman community. We’ve begun a process to ensure the planning framework for the Airport reflects best practice and protects the ability to extend the runway in future.

Following a letter-drop to 1100 of our neighbours and a public drop-in session at the Honest Lawyer, we provided our proposed noise contours to the Nelson City Council. Before the end of 2022 we will also lodge documentation with the Council seeking changes to the Airport’s zoning and planning controls. This will be accompanied by a new mitigation package for homeowners within the noise contours, to be 100% funded by Nelson Airport.

If you’d like to find out more about our plans, there’s a wealth of information on our website: nelsonairport.co.nz/ourfuture. This page will be regularly updated as we make our way through the process.

We’re continuing to enjoy seeing the Airport buzzing with activity. Passenger numbers through Nelson are rebounding thanks to the relaxation of COVID-related travel restrictions, and from the start of March to the end of May we welcomed 81,000 passengers.

I’m sure many will take the opportunity afforded by the long weekend to travel and reunite with friends and whānau to celebrate Matariki this month. Whatever your plans, I hope you are able to rest, reflect and reconnect on our new public holiday. Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tou hau Māori - Happy Matariki!

Mark Thompson, Nelson Airport CEO

Read the rest of the Winter Update