Information About Ōamaru Airport
Published on 12 August 2025
Some key details regarding the use of Ōamaru Airport.
Since drag racing events commenced thirteen years ago, Ōamaru Airport has grown and become the sixth busiest airport in New Zealand for plane traffic. Because the airport has gotten busier, the Council approved an Aeronautical Study in September 2024 and sent it to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in October 2024 for their review.
Council is still waiting for feedback from the CAA. The Aeronautical Study sets out a way forward to ensure the safe management of what is now a very busy airport.
The airport’s asphalt runway is in bad shape. An engineering report from BECA in early 2025 confirmed this. Although there were plans to re-seal the runway in 2025, the Council decided to delay this work to the 2027/28 financial year in the Long Term Plan 2025-34 to ease financial pressure on ratepayers.
In December 2024, Council told a community group, the Whitestone Rod and Restorers Club, that no events would be held at the airport in 2025 or for the foreseeable future. The two reasons given were:
1) The runway needed to be re-sealed, and holding events could make the damage worse or harm a new surface.
2) Council was awaiting CAA’s feedback on the Aeronautical Study, which was then expected by February 2025, which would affect how the runways can be used.
Council repeated its decision not to allow events at the airport in March 2025 when the group asked again.
In July 2025, the group was asked to remove their signs and empty their storage from airport property.
When the group reached out, Council agreed to meet with them to talk about all these matters once the Airport Manager was appointed. This meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 13 August due to the groups availability.
Council also wants to note that the group was given free storage space by the Council for their twice-yearly events for some years now, as long as the storage space was well maintained.
The Council reminded the group in January 2023, several times between August and November 2023, and again in November 2024 that maintenance was required.
The group completed the maintenance in mid-2025, after they had been told there would be no more events for the foreseeable future. The Council thanks the group for maintaining the space as agreed.
Council is awaiting the feedback from the CAA regarding the Aeronautical Study of the Ōamaru Airport. The reasphalting of the runway is budgeted in the 2027/28 year of the Long Term Plan.
ENDS