New parking charges to come into effect as Taupō Airport comes of age

Darren Petry from Taupō District Council

New parking charges will come into effect when Taupō Airport’s new terminal opens; and reflect the growth of the airport and its surrounding business precinct.

The new charges will help to maintain the newly-constructed airport carpark and terminal, which is currently underway with a budget of $9.237 million. Of that, $3.367 million was allocated in Council’s Long Term Plan, along with a $5 million grant from the Crown’s Provincial Development Unit, and $870,000 from the Ministry of Transport. Work is scheduled for completion in December.

The development includes a new sealed carpark with more parking spaces and lighting to replace the old carpark which was unlit and grassed.

Taupō District Council deputy chief executive Julie Gardyne says the carpark charges reflect the council’s user-pays philosophy and will help reduce the financial impact on ratepayers.

“The new carpark is a huge improvement over the previous one, being much safer for winter use when flights are arriving in darkness, and a lot easier to navigate in the wet,” Ms Gardyne said.

“The intended charge structure, which is subject to Ministry of Transport approval, will see the first 30 minutes free, so people can do drop offs and picks up. Then fees of $2 per hour will apply up to a maximum of $14 for 24 hours. The best part is, the system is fully automated, with cameras registering vehicle registration numbers, and then users can pay at the barrier or at terminals in the carpark. We’ll also be looking at long-term concession rates if there is demand.”

Ms Gardyne said Taupō Airport was one of the few regional airports to still have unpaid parking.

“Its level of operations have increased considerably over the years, so we need to make sure that it is properly funded by those that use it most. The contributions from the parking will be invested back into running the airport and its infrastructure. Our airport is transitioning from a medium-sized regional airport to an important transport hub and business precinct that plays an important economic role for our entire district, and the charges we have settled on are very competitive, being lower than all other airports of comparable size. For example, Napier Airport charges $5 per hour and it is $4 per hour at Rotorua Airport.”

Taupō Airport Authority (TAA) chairman Chris Johnston said the new airport terminal was going to be a huge asset to the whole district as it welcomed visitors as well as offering a better travel experience for locals.

“The TAA has been working towards this day for nearly 10 years,” Mr Johnston said. “The new terminal looks very impressive and is going to be a world class facility, designed and built by Taupō locals.

“It is really exciting to see it now coming of age and opening up even more potential. Our passenger numbers have returned to 90 percent of their pre-Covid levels, which is fantastic. It’s important to remember that it takes a huge amount of work to keep an airport of this size functioning. Everything from staffing to wildlife control, runway maintenance and maintaining safety levels - and yes, car parks - has to be a part of a business model and the new parking charges are part of this.”