Ensuring the runway is sufficient to support the region's growth, connectivity, resilience, and prosperity is central to Nelson Airport's purpose.

Nelson's location means air travel will remain a critical transport choice for the region's businesses and individuals. Nelson Airport forecasts that approximately 1.8 million passengers could be passing through the airport annually by 2050.

A successful airport contributes to a strong, vibrant and prosperous region, bringing economic, social and recreational opportunities for the whole community, and relies on having the necessary infrastructure in place to support its operational needs.

Nelson Airport has been planning to extend its existing runway for many years. At 1347m, Nelson Airport’s existing runway is among the shortest runways in the world catering for the type of aircraft currently operating at Nelson. Currently, some aircraft operating from Nelson Airport have weight restrictions limiting the number of passengers /freight that they can carry. Significant efforts are also being put into developing sustainably powered aircraft which are likely to be larger and heavier than current aircraft types, meaning a longer runway is needed to support these next generation aircraft. An extended runway at Nelson Airport will:

• Remove existing weight restrictions for aircraft using the runway.

• Ensure sufficient length for future aircraft types, including sustainably powered aircraft.

• Provide runway end safety areas (RESA) at each end of the runway, further enhancing safety at the airport.

Nelson Airport’s current runway will be too short to host the sustainably powered aircraft that will begin operating in New Zealand within the next decade. If we cannot upgrade our infrastructure to meet the operational needs of these aircraft, they will not be able to land or take off from Nelson.

That would restrict the travel choices of Nelsonians, in addition to having an impact on our economy and our region’s resilience.

The aviation industry is working towards a more sustainable future for flight travel, with our national carrier Air New Zealand signalling its intention to begin replacing its Q300 domestic fleet with more sustainable aircraft (likely green hydrogen or battery hybrid systems) from 2030.

We are planning now to ensure we’re ready to provide the infrastructure required by these next-generation aircraft. The nature of airport infrastructure and the capital investment required for its development means Nelson Airport needs to plan sufficiently far into the future. Nelson Airport has assessed that the extended runway will be required within the next 10 to 15 years. Having the planning approvals in place to enable the development of a longer runway is a key step in ensuring Nelson Airport can build the infrastructure it needs to support more sustainably powered aircraft.

It's also important Nelson Airport can provide clarity and certainty about its future for its neighbours, passengers, operators, and the wider Nelson-Tasman community. Including the approvals in the Nelson Resource Management Plan now helps to provide that certainty around what will be delivered in the future.

No. The proposed runway extension is not sought to cater for jets. The extension is primarily to enable future low-emission aircraft, cater fully for existing aircraft and to further improve safety for passengers and crew travelling to and from Nelson.

Nelson Airport would have to go through a further consultation and formal planning process should it seek to allow for commercial jets in the future.

The creation of a special purpose Airport zone is recommended as best practice in national planning standards. Nelson Airport is proposing the zone apply to its existing land together with the additional land required for the runway extension. Many of the existing rules in the current zoning are carried over into the Airport zone, and more clarity is also provided in the Airport zone rules on the types of airport specific activities that can occur, giving more certainty to Nelson Airport and the community as to what type of development can occur.

Noise contours define the level of noise intensity that can be expected to be generated in the future from aircraft operations in areas surrounding the airport. The contours define limits on how much noise the airport is allowed to generate in these areas.

Noise contours are important to allow planners, homeowners and developers to identify suitable areas for housing, recreational and other land uses, while also protecting future airport needs.

The existing contours were based on a different fleet of aircraft and level of activity than exists today. Updated contours will more accurately reflect the expected future level of noise generated by the airport out to 2050, as well as provide for the impacts of aircraft using an extended runway.

There will be no immediate changes in the noise generated at the airport. These planning changes are to ensure the airport adequately plans for and mitigates future noise, and the contours reflect the projected future noise of the reconfigured and fully operational runway out to 2050. In reality, any increase in noise will be gradual over time as additional services are added to meet demand and once the extended runway is constructed and operational.

The international noise modelling tool used to determine airport noise contours must use existing aircraft for its calculations. As travel demand grows between now and 2050, we anticipate there will be more flights to and from Nelson Airport, resulting in an increase in the average overall noise generated at the airport.

The airport will undertake annual assessments of activity and noise levels to understand the impacts on its neighbours. If noise reaches a level of 60dB on average at a nearby property, the airport will fund mitigation measures (such as mechanical ventilation and acoustic insultation for eligible existing homes in the Residential Zone) to help minimise the impact of noise. The airport also has a range of obligations to monitor and manage noise, in order to reduce the impact on surrounding communities as far as practicable.

New noise modelling software has been applied to Nelson Airport’s plans in order to provide the latest best-practice noise contour lines for our application to the Nelson City Council.

The updated contours are slightly smaller than those provided to the public in April 2022 which results in a reduction in the number of properties affected.

There are no restrictions or requirements on existing, lawfully established activities, such as your home.

If you want to build additional bedrooms or living room areas, you will have to include acoustic insulation and ventilation. You will also need to get resource consent if you want to build a new home or if you propose to add any new dwellings in the residential zone at a density of more than one house per 600m2. Depending on where your home is located, your property may already be subject to some of these controls under the existing Nelson Resource Management Plan rules.

There are no restrictions or requirements on existing, lawfully established activities, such as your home.

The addition of new dwellings in this contour will be prohibited (meaning resource consent cannot be sought), although you can replace your existing house (such as in the event of a fire). If you want to build additional bedrooms or living room areas for your existing house you will have to include acoustic insulation and ventilation. Depending on where your home is located, your property may already be subject to these controls under the existing Nelson Resource Management Plan rules.

The changes we’re seeking will not alter the hours that flights can occur.

When the runway is extended in future, the airport will carry out a survey of any obstacles in surrounding areas that might be too high for operations on the new runway. It’s possible that some trees might be too high and need to be trimmed or removed.

No, as the runway is proposed to be extended to the north.

Airports are often located on the coast, as this is a safe place for planes to take off and land. Suitable alternative locations for an airport within our region, a safe distance from mountains, densely-populated residential areas and with favourable prevailing winds, are not easily found.

We are focused on making Nelson Airport as resilient as possible to the effects of all natural events including climate change, while doing our bit to support the aviation industry’s transition to a low-emissions operating model. The changes to our zoning would allow us to establish green energy production at the airport as a permitted activity, giving us even greater opportunity to contribute to a low-emissions energy future.

We’re closely following the updated science, Government and Council guidelines as they become available and these will be incorporated into our planning and decision-making as Project 2-Zero progresses.

It is proposed to extend the runway to the north in future, which would require the use of some of the land currently owned by the Nelson Golf Club. We’ve been engaging with the club about our future runway plans, and conversations are ongoing. This proposal won’t affect the club’s ability to operate until such time as a decision is made to commence construction to physically extend the runway onto the land currently owned by the club.

RESA stands for Runway End Safety Area. This is an obstacle-free area at each end of the runway to give aircraft a greater buffer zone in line with best practice international safety standards and civil aviation requirements.

Civil Aviation rules require an airport to provide RESA when a runway that services aircraft with more than 30 seats is extended by more than 15m.

EMAS (Engineering Material Arresting System) is a system of crushable cellular cement blocks placed at the end of a runway to help stop an aircraft if it overshoots the runway.  EMAS is sometimes used in lieu of graded Runway End Safety Areas (RESA) where land is not available for a RESA of standard dimensions.   

When an aircraft overshoots a runway and comes into contact with the EMAS, the wheels and undercarriage of the aircraft sink into the lightweight material and crush the cement blocks, causing the aircraft’s momentum to slow and helping it come to a stop. 

Providing standard length RESA at each end of a runway is considered best practice and will reduce the risk of damage to aircraft in undershoot or overshoot incidents by providing additional space at the ends of the runway. 

EMAS has been used at airports internationally in lieu of a RESA where the airport’s geography makes it impractical to provide a full-length RESA. It's not in widespread use because international aviation regulators favour full-length RESA being provided wherever practicable.  

Using EMAS at Nelson Airport would not change the northern takeoff point for aircraft on a longer runway, so noise exposure is unchanged under this scenario compared to RESA. 

Yes, the airport has looked closely at whether a southern extension would be feasible, including commissioning geotechnical, archaeology heritage, landscape and ecological reports. Extending to the south would require reclaiming seabed and would have a range of environmental effects, including on ecological values. On balance, a northern extension is the preferred option.

When our proposed changes come into effect, we will carry out annual assessments to determine the aircraft noise generated over the previous 12 months and will provide a report to the Council on compliance with our noise contours. Currently we also commission an independent audit every five years to test that we are complying with existing noise provisions.

Nelson Airport is not proposing any changes to the noise limits for engine testing. Nelson Airport remains committed to responsibly controlling aircraft noise levels and activities at the airport to a reasonable level and the current limits achieve that.

Nelson Airport requested that Nelson City Council publicly notify the notice of requirement for the extended runway and the accompanying plan change. That public submission process took place in 2023. Public submissions are now closed and a hearing in front of independent commissioners is scheduled for May 2024.

Nelson Airport is jointly owned by the Nelson City and Tasman District councils. The airport operates as a commercial entity tasked with returning a dividend to its two shareholders.

That means the airport pays an annual dividend to both Councils, which the Councils can then use as they see fit for the benefit of the community.

As with previous infrastructure projects at the airport, we would expect this project to be funded by the airport’s own revenue streams without any funding from the councils.

Yes. Feel free to get in touch with us by emailing enquiries@nelsonairport.co.nz or through the online contact form at the bottom of this page.

Since the current operative noise contours were developed, the types of aircraft operating at Nelson Airport have changed. The existing noise contours were based on noisier aircraft that no longer operate here. The updated noise contours have been developed using modern aircraft and projected 2050 aircraft flight activity levels. While the use of modern aircraft has resulted in a general reduction of the noise contours in some areas, the provision for an extended runway has contributed to the expansion of the noise contours in others. The overall effect is a reduction in the number of properties that sit within the contours.

We are required to meet the New Zealand Standard for airport noise (NZS 6805:1992). We must forecast our future activity, which is then entered into best practice, internationally accepted aircraft noise modelling software to predict noise and define noise contours.

The existing contours were based on a different fleet of aircraft and level of activity that exists today. Updated contours are a more accurate reflection of expected future noise levels generated by the airport out to 2050 (and provide for the impacts of aircraft using an extended runway). The changes we’re proposing will result in some planning controls being placed over properties within the contours. If you are not within the noise contours, you will not be subject to these controls.

Our application doesn’t result in any changes to what is currently permitted in the rules applying to a site under the Nelson Resource Management Plan. When the runway is extended in the future, the airport will carry out a survey of any existing obstacles in surrounding areas that may be too high for operations on the new runway.

The airport has looked closely at whether a southern extension would be feasible, including commissioning geotechnical, archaeology heritage, noise, landscape and ecological reports. Extending to the south would require reclaiming seabed and would have a range of environmental effects, including on ecological values. A southern extension would also not result in significantly less noise for Tahunanui residents in the future. For most Tahunanui residents, the projected noise effects of a southern extension will be similar to the projected noise effects of a northern extension (see map below).

There will be a gradual increase in noise generated at the airport even if the runway is not extended, because the number of flights is forecast to grow over time.  An increase in noise on the existing runway is already allowed under the airport's existing noise contours.   

When you compare the noise generated by a single ATR aircraft arrival on our current runway versus an extended runway, there will be an imperceptible change in noise for both Tāhuna and Annesbrook.  

When you compare the overall average future noise levels (2050 forecast) on our current runway versus an extended runway, the change attributable to the longer runway is: 

• an imperceptible change in noise for Tahuna (1 – 2 decibels) 

• a just perceptible to appreciable change in Annesbrook (3 – 8 dB) 

The first map below shows the change in noise from an ATR landing from the north on the extended runway, compared to an ATR landing from the north on the existing runway. 

The second map shows the change in future 3-month average aircraft noise at 2050 activity levels on an extended runway compared to 2050 activity levels on the existing runway.