Airport's future up in the air: From left, Glenorchy Air co-owner James Stokes and National MPs Joseph Mooney, Jacqui Dean and Simeon Brown discuss the impacts of the proposed closure of the Milford Sound airstrip on Tuesday

National MP Simeon Brown’s calling for the government to immediately scrap the proposed closure of Milford Sound airstrip, saying the runway is vital to tourism operations.

The proposal’s part of the Milford Opportunities Project masterplan, unveiled last July, which aims to address visitor pressures in the area through access changes, including international visitor charges and cruise ship bans.

After a visit to Milford Sound on Tuesday with Southland MP Joseph Mooney and Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean, Brown says he thinks the airstrip closure’s ‘‘an absolutely crazy thing’’ to have on the table.

‘‘It’s a core part of the Milford Sound proposition to tourists and the reality is those operators rely on it for their businesses and have done so for many years.’’

While he agrees there’s room for improvement in managing visitor congestion, closing the airport’s not the answer.

He says the facility, which also provides critical access during emergency events, services 5% of the visitor market to Milford Sound, so its
removal would only add pressure to bus and car congestion.

‘‘What they [operators] need is certainty around the future … it’s the absolute wrong decision when we are trying to get tourists back into New Zealand and businesses back up and running.’’

Brown suggests the ministerial group making decisions should visit the area to talk to businesses who “rely on this for their bread and butter”, as well as tourists.

‘‘It’s all well and good for people in ivory towers in Wellington to come up with great plans but you’ve got to talk to people on the ground who are impacted.’’

Flightseeing operators have reduced their businesses’ environmental impact, Brown says, only to have their future operations thrown up in the air.

‘‘Now, you’ve got a government coming along saying ‘well actually, we might just rip up the airfield anyway and turn it into a bit of grass walkway’.

That’s the last thing that should be done.’’

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