Auckland Airport written off as 'simply not good enough'

Tuesday, 29 May 2018

A spokesperson for Auckland Airport said improvements to streamline services were underway.

Auckland International Airport has come under fire from the Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand (BARNZ) for its quality of service - or rather, lack there of.

The board, which represents 30 airlines and aviation related companies in New Zealand, says it is frustrated with various services at Auckland Airport and is calling for further investment in the country's 'national gateway'.

BARNZ executive director Justin Tighe-Umbers says Auckland Airport is suffering from under-investment in facilities.

BARNZ executive director Justin Tighe-Umbers said long queues, high parking charges and even leaking roofs had made Auckland Airport 'substandard'.

'For the national gateway for a $14.5 billion tourist economy … it is simply not good enough,' he said.

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'The airport may point to being caught off guard by extraordinary growth, but the truth is this is the result of under-investment in facilities over years while the airport has provided 100 per cent of underlying profits back to its shareholders.'

Airlines and passengers pay more than $300 million a year for facilities at Auckland Airport.

Recently, radio personality Mike Hosking called the airport a 'national embarrassment' and 'an aviation version of a long-drop'.

The airport appeared to have been under construction for years and that, coupled with a lack of staff, was making the overall passenger experience slow, he said.

Auckland Airport is currently in the middle of a four year, $2 billion infrastructure upgrade.

By 2022 upgrades to the departure lounge, three more contact gates for international aircrafts, a new domestic jet terminal and upgrades to the check-in area were planned to be delivered.

Auckland Airport chief executive Adrian Littlewood said the significant growth in passengers passing through the various Auckland terminals over a short period of time was something no one in the industry predicted.

'The growth has, at times, put pressure on both our and others' infrastructure whether it be getting to the airport, walking through terminal construction zones or getting through border processes,' he said.

'We know that the core airport infrastructure system needs an upgrade and we are getting on with it. Making a change of this scale over the next five years while operating an airport is a major undertaking and we don't underestimate the challenge.

'There will be occasions when things don't go well for a handful of the 55,000 people who travel through the airport on average each day, but our team and all those working for organisations based at the airport will work hard to minimise any disruption and make it the best experience possible for our customers.'