Open Day at Kāpiti Coast Airport

Kāpiti Coast District Council’s Mayor K Gurunathan will join other regional leaders, the Kāpiti Chamber of Commerce, and Air New Zealand to host an open day at Kapiti Coast Airport for the local community on Saturday 3 March.

Following the arrival of Air New Zealand’s first scheduled flight of the day at 11.30am, the airport will be open to visitors from around the region.

The Mayor says the Council is pleased to support Air NZ’s initiatives and understands the importance of maintaining and growing the regional route, both for business and community in Kāpiti and neighbouring regions.

“The advantages and convenience of being able to travel directly from the Coast into Auckland, and home again without having to travel to Wellington city are obvious, and we want to remind not just locals of that, but alert out-of-region visitors to that convenience, as well,” he said.

For the first time, the mayors of Kāpiti, Porirua, and Horowhenua will be coming together to promote a regional asset.

“I’m very pleased to be welcoming Mayors Mike Tana and Michael Feyen to Kāpiti, and I’ll be inviting them to check out the range of tourism options on show during the open day.

“We’ll consider how these are well placed to be promoted to visitors as part of a wider regional package of leisure activities and experiences north of Wellington.”

“The completion of Transmission Gully will make travel time between Porirua and Kāpiti shorter making Kapiti Airport a viable alternative for Porirua residents, given Wellington's traffic congestion and parking problems,” Mayor Tana said.

Mayor Feyen said the proposed expressway extension north through Horowhenua will do the same and draw the District's business catchment south towards Kāpiti and Porirua.

“Kapiti Airport will be an alternative to the one in Palmerston North,” he added.

The public will be invited to view the facilities, go on board an Air New Zealand Q300 aircraft, enjoy free refreshments, and learn more about what’s on offer, both leisure and business-wise in Kāpiti. There’ll also be flight prize draws for two return Air NZ Kāpiti to Auckland flights.

Air New Zealand Regional Affairs Manager Ian Collier says the airline is looking forward to co-hosting the open day.

“We’ve been working closely with local stakeholders to encourage use of our services and grow demand and this open day is just one output of this work. We’re looking forward to inviting Kāpiti Coast locals on board one of our Q300 aircraft as part of the event and sharing more details on the services available at Kapiti Coast Airport,” says Mr Collier.

Mayor Gurunathan also thanked the Chamber for their sterling support and promised to continue to seek a stronger working relationship of all involved in highlighting the importance of the regular air connection north and south.

Members of the public are invited to attend the Open Day at Kapiti Coast Airport, 60 Toru Road, Paraparaumu Beach on Saturday 3 March from 12.00pm to 2.15pm.