Airports Welcome Aviation Policy Milestones

The NZ Airports Association has applauded the tangible steps being taken towards a more efficient and productive aviation system by Minister of Transport, Hon Simeon Brown.

The Minister announced today that the Ministry of Transport will launch a targeted consultation on the delivery of aviation security services in New Zealand. This will include exploring whether airports and airlines can provide screening services themselves in more efficient ways than the current nationalised system.

The Minister also announced new performance reporting for airlines, which will give New Zealanders a clear view of on-time performance and cancellations each month. Critically, officials will also be working on public reporting on airfares.

“Under the Minister’s leadership we are seeing action on two issues airports have been raising for many years,” NZ Airports Chief Executive Billie Moore says.

“While we have had a constructive relationship with AvSec on dealing with security screening queues over the past 18 months, this experience has reinforced our longstanding view that there has got to be a better way to deliver screening services around the country.

“Airports want to be part of the solution. This consultation process will allow us to assess whether airports could deliver some screening services more flexibly and at lower cost.

“By establishing a monthly performance report for airlines, the Minister is finally giving New Zealand consumers access to information other countries have enjoyed since the 1990s. The commitment to explore airfare monitoring is hugely welcome and a critical next step for dealing with the lack of competition in the domestic network.

“These initiatives could be gamechangers for our system. We look forward to supporting them in any way we can.”

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