Assurance On Jets To Harewood

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30560, 1 October 1964, Page 18

Assurance On Jets To Harewood

Christchurch Airport should have enough navigational aids to operate a limited jet service by the end of March and an unlimited service by the end of next year. Cr. A. R. Guthrey, chairman of the Christchurch City Council’s airport committee, returned with this information from Wellington yesterday.

Cr. Guthrey said that he and the airport manager (Mr A. I. R. Jamieson) had a very good meeting with the Secretary of the Civil Aviation Department (Mr B. R. Rae) and the Director of Technical Services (Mr L. F. P. Taylor). “Mr Rae assured us that he was just as anxious as we are to hasten the navigational aid programme at Christchurch International Airport,” said Cr. Guthrey. Mr Taylor provided an appraisal of the present position and indicated that Christchurch would have the limited jet service by March and the unlimited service by the end of next year. Cr. Guthrey said that the March target was a month later than the earlier estimate, but it seemed fairly certain the present programme would be adhered to.

“Mr Rae fully supported our contention that an interim Qantas Boeing 707 service to Christchurch before Mangere was completed. and before T.E.A.L.’s re-equipment with DCB jets, would give a much-needed stimulus to the building of new hotels,” he said. If an early application was not received from Qantas to operate a limited jet service through Christchurch by March, 1965, he intended to go to Sydney to discuss the matter with the airline, Cr. Guthrey said. “It is confidently expected that, when T.E.A.L, Qantas, and possibly Pan American Airwatys are operating pure jets through both Mangere and Christchurch early in 1966, the number of tourists visiting New Zealand can be doubled immediately,” said Cr. Guthrey.

“Our main concern now is to provide sufficient hotel and other tourist facilities to meet the demand. I have recently returned from a short visit to Hawaii and Fiji, where tourism is booming and where everyone connected with the travel industry expects a similar tourist Invasion in New Zealand just as soon as jet facilities are available,” he said.