Plans unveiled to allow night flights into Queenstown

Queenstown airport has the highest degree of difficulty rating for airline pilots as it is at the base of the confluence of three mountain valleys - which means winds can be strong, gusty and unpredictable. Last May the Civil Aviation authorities of Australia and New Zealand approved the safety case to allow flights into Queenstown in darkness. The airport company is right now presenting its plans to introduce them by next winter, including widening the runway, and additional lighting. But the Airline Pilots Association says the runway is too short for the plan to be safe and some of its members are unwilling to land at the airport at night. David Reynolds is the Technical Officer for ALPA