Withdrawal appropriate - Mayor

The decision by the Queenstown Airport Corporation and Auckland International Airport Limited to withdraw from the issue of further shares in Queenstown Airport (announced today) was an appropriate response, QLDC Mayor Vanessa van Uden said. 

The Council had been kept fully appraised by the corporation in terms of its negotiations with AIAL. 

“What this does is confirm AIAL as a minority shareholder with a 24.99% stake. There is now no further issue of shares to AIAL. In my view there is no ideal outcome but this decision gives all parties some certainty,” Mayor van Uden said. 

An issue of further shares to 35%, as previously optioned under the subscription agreement between the two parties, was to be the subject of comprehensive community consultation. 

“We now have a line in the sand. As a community we still need to understand what this deal means and there has been some work towards achieving this done by Price Waterhouse Cooper,” Mayor van Uden said. 

The report would be released this week.