NEED FOR HANGARS AT AIRPORT

Southland Times, Issue 25747, 10 August 1945, Page 4

NEED FOR HANGARS AT AIRPORT

VIEW OF CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The need for hangars at the Invercargill airport was emphasized at a meeting of the council of the Invercargill Chamber of Commerce yesterday when a decision was made to ask the City Council to speed up the work of making provision for hangars. It was pointed out that if planes could be serviced at Invercargill there would be nothing to stop the plane staying overnight and making'the journey north in the mornings. Reference was made to the fact that the Union Airways plane had not been able to land at Taieri on two days this week because of fog. It was stated that if servicing facilities were, available at Invercargill the plane could have completed the journey south.

On previous occasions the chamber has emphasized the claims of Invercargill as a suitable centre for a terminal for a trans-Tasman service. In this connection a letter was received from the Melbourne chamber enclosing a letter from Ansett Airways Ltd. This company advised that during the postwar period it intended to develop additional services on the mainland of Australia and was not, at this stage, interested in overseas airlines. It was felt that adequate service would eventually be provided between Australia and New Zealand by existing operators who intended to step up the frequency of service immediately additional aircraft were available.

At the previous meeting of the chamber, it was stated, it had been decided to point out that if, as indicated in the Press, the internal air service were taken over by the Government, die chamber expected the Invercargill airport to be the southern terminal ,of the trunk line and also considered that the Government should provide for or arrange for the provision of an airport with capacity and facilities for a transTasman terminal which the people of Southland and Otago confidently expected.