Nelson Weekly Your Community Newspaper
Tuesday 28 May 2013
skills
Page 13
T
T SURVIVING T T Refugees get car WINTER T Page 22-26
Nelson’s last minute win Page 29
Airport extension won’t fly Calls for Jetstar to start flying to and from Nelson have been grounded. Last week a Facebook page was set up to encourage budget airline Jetstar to fly into Nelson. The page has attracted hundreds of fans but Jetstar says it will not be able to fly into the top of the south unless the runway is extended to cater for its jet aeroplanes. The current length of the Nelson Airport runway is 1347 metres. The kind of planes that Jetstar fly in New Zealand need a minimum length of around 1600 metres. The airline does have planes in Australia that could land in Nelson but it does not want to take them off those routes and move them across the Tasman. Lengthening the runway could cost up to $60 million for the ratepayerowned airport and is only one major stumbling block for the move.
Andrew Board Editor
andrew@nelsonweekly.co.nz
Nelson Airport Ltd chief executive Kaye McNabb says even if the runway was extended the likelihood of jets flying commercial flights to and from Nelson is highly unlikely. The busiest route for the region is to Wellington and flying jets on that route, or other short flights, is simply uneconomical. “The reality for Nelson is that jets don’t do short haul economically. Our busiest route is Nelson to Wellington and then to Christchurch and they aren’t what we call jet compliant routes. They don’t even get into cruise mode,” she says. The Facebook page hoped Jetstar would bring more competition
Mayor ready to take some punches Whether you love or loathe his politics, watching Nelson mayor Aldo Miccio get into the boxing ring this weekend should be great viewing. Aldo will fight a mystery opponent this Saturday night as part of the Fight 4 Victory fundraiser at the Trafalgar Centre. The bout will help raise money for the Victory Boxing Club and Aldo says he’s more than a little nervous heading into the big night.
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