Airways NZ has today (Tuesday May 19) confirmed it will close Invercargill Airport’s air traffic control tower and withdraw airfield traffic information services at Milford Sound Piopiotahi Aerodrome.

Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt said the decision was a blow for the entire Southland region, after the excitement of getting regular jet flight schedules from Auckland to Invercargill Airport in 2019.

Air Milford chief pilot Antony Sproull said he and his general aviation colleagues were “pretty gutted’’ and felt for the radio operators who work at Milford.

Airways chief executive office Graeme Sumner said air traffic services would be progressively withdrawn from seven airports, including the two Southland utilities, over the next six months.

The other airports are at Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Rotorua and the Kapiti Coast.

The closures follow a dramatic collapse in Air New Zealand passenger flights due to the pandemic, and could mean the loss of up to 38 jobs around New Zealand over three to six months. 

There are three full time and two part time qualified radio operators working at Milford and an unknown number of staff at Invercargill. 

Invercargill Airport general manager Nigel Finnerty said he was disappointed with the decision.

“We do not support the decision to remove the air traffic controllers from our operations before we have a solution in place to safely and effectively manage aviation operations in our airspace,” he said.

“It is too soon to say what the impacts of this decision on our airport may be, and we need some time to assess this, while also attempting to find solutions.”

Mr Finnerty said digital technology could be one of those solutions, and the airport would continue to work with Airways in development of the digital tower, and would call for its commitment to finishing this project.

Before COVID-19, Airways had been reviewing Invercargill’s manned air traffic control tower and intending to trial a digital tower.

Even that new technology is uncertain, with Air New Zealand operating a vastly reduced service of two daily return services between Christchurch and Invercargill – though additional daily services are planned next week.

Although Mr Sumner said passenger safety and airline operations would not be affected by the withdrawal of air traffic services, Sir Tim and Mr Sproull do have safety concerns.

Sir Tim said the Invercargill, Southland and Gore mayors had discussed the situation.

“We are very upset about it… We see it as a safety issue. It means [fewer] flights are likely to occur as well. We have the Government, on one hand, saying we have to build regional tourism. This is not helping the situation… It is a scaling down when we were so excited about getting direct flights from Auckland,” Sir Tim said.

The loss of service at Milford was “another blow for us” because although Milford was in Southland, “we were all working together”, Sir Tim said.

Mr Sproull said general aviation operators would feel “a little nervy” operating at Milford Sound as the radio operators were primarily there for their safety.

Mid-air accidents were “potentially our biggest fear”, he said.

“It was not at our request [that the air information system be withdrawn]. They’ve gone and done it because of costs, effectively… We can operate. It is not as if we can’t fly but we might not feel safe doing it,” Mr Sproull said.  

Pre-COVID-19, Air Milford had been operating seven days a week but have scaled back to Wednesdays and Saturdays because of the drop in tourists.

“We knew the tourism industry was going to flatten but nothing like this,” Mr Sproull said.

A working group comprising representatives from the seven airports, Airways NZ, Air New Zealand, general aviation and the Civil Aviation Authority will now identify when to withdraw current services from each airport and what type of service, if any, might replace them. 

Mr Sumner confirmed to the Southland App on May 6 that the Invercargill digital tower trial was “on hold” trial pending the completion of the COVID-19 review, but he could not be contacted today to clarify if it remains a replacement option.

Air New Zealand is operating two daily return services between Christchurch and Invercargill this week, in a 68-seat ATR turboprop aircraft.

Next week (from 25 May) there will be three daily return services between Christchurch and Invercargill Monday to Friday and two return services on both Saturday and Sunday.

Additional frequencies would be reintroduced back as demand permitted, a public affairs spokeswoman for the airline said.

“One-metre social distancing means we can only sell just under 50% of seats on a turboprop aircraft,” she said.

New Zealand Airline Pilots Association president Captain Andrew Ridling today called for an end to the “empty middle seat” policy.

“Evidence suggests that the risk of transmission on board aircraft is extremely low.  

“NZALPA believes that the wearing of face coverings for passengers and crew will reduce this already low risk, while avoiding the possibility of dramatic cost increases to air travel with seats going empty,” Capt Ridling said.