Auckland Airport's second runway to be louder and longer

Thursday, 15 February 2018

Auckland Airport wants to extend the consent for its second runway to make it almost 1km longer.

Auckland International Airport's plan to build a second runway will mean more noise for Mangere, Flat Bush and Otara residents.

The second runway will be built north of the international terminal.

A map of the area that would be affected by noise from the airport.

The airport expects the second runway to be operational by 2028, when the current runway will reach capacity.

The project has been on the horizon for years. Consent for a second runway was first approved in 2002, but the airport now intends to build the runway further north and 833 metres longer than what was consented.

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Auckland Airport has set aside $202m for the first five years of the project and wants to raise landing fees to fund it.

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Airport spokeswoman Lisa Mulitalo said the extension would further 'future-proof' the runway and make it possible for wide-bodied aircraft like the Boeing 787s and Airbus A380.

The proposed changes mean an additional 475 residents will be affected by the increased noise, bringing the total in the surrounding area to over 500.

Auckland Airport put out an interactive map for nearby residents to see how they would be affected by the new runway.

Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand (Barnz) chief executive Justin Tighe-Umbers said the second runway was 'critical' to meet the airport's growth projections.

The airport has long planned a second runway to cope with an expected doubling of visitors over the next 25 years. Passenger numbers are forecast to reach 40 million a year by 2044, up from 19 million last year.

Tighe-Umbers said from an airline perspective the right time for a second runway to be ready was when the existing runway is nearly at capacity.

'The timing is absolutely critical, it's an expensive asset if it turns up early that cost is going to be worn by airlines and travellers, and if it turns up late you'll have congestion or limited services.'

Landing fees could be raised by $1.48 from 2021to help fund the project.

Tighe-Umbers said Barnz has made a submission on behalf of airlines to the Commerce Commission to oppose the fee increase.

'We believe airlines and travellers should only pay for services that are being provided and not ones that are years away.'

While the cost of the new runway has not been finalised, $202 million has been set aside for the first five years.

Aviation consultant Irene King said the new runway provided both economic and employment benefits to the region and would sustain the airport for the next 30 to 50 years after it was built.

'But I would imagine that the community would still be pretty concerned with the noise.'

When Heathrow Airport in London built an extra runway, it paid to insulate about 500 homes in the noise shadows of incoming aircraft..