Air travellers may be checking through flasher facilities at Blenheim Airport by the end of next year.

Marlborough Airport Ltd, a subsidiary of council-owned Port Marlborough, is in the early stages of planning a $2 million revamp to the terminal.

The company is also feeling out its options for expanding the airport's runway, although if or when that might be necessary is still up in the air.

Port Marlborough chief executive Sean Bolt said more passengers using the airport, and the possibility of tighter security requirements in the future meant an upgrade was necessary.

Up to three extra departure and arrival gates could be added to the two-gate terminal to cater for increased flight activity at the site, while check-in facilities might be improved.

Scheduled flight landings at Blenheim Airport have grown nearly 10 per cent annually in the past two years while passenger numbers using it are expected to reach 198,000 this year.

Last year more than 6600 scheduled flights touched down at the airport, compared with 4628 flights five years ago.

Air New Zealand and Origin Pacific are now the main airlines flying into Blenheim Airport, although smaller operators like relatively new arrival air2there have also bumped up usage.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAir New Zealand's subsidiary Eagle Air has increased the number of direct flights on its 19-seater Beech aircraft between Blenheim and Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland in recent years.

However, spokesman Mark Street would not be drawn on whether the company was likely to send its new 50-seat Q-300s to Blenheim in the future.

Mr Bolt said an upgrade to the terminal would also help prevent overcrowding inside whenever flights were delayed, cancelled or diverted from other centres.

The revamp might also see the departure area separated from the arrivals lounge for security reasons, while the layout of the carpark is likely to be altered in the short term.

The airport in 2003 introduced long-term parking fees with travellers paying for the service before entering the carpark.

Mr Bolt said that arrangement was likely to change to a pay-as-you-leave service, something which was more expensive to install but worked better for time-stressed travellers.

He said the terminal upgrade was likely to cost between $1 million and $2 million, although it was in the early stages and no firm proposal had yet been presented to the Marlborough Airport board.

Discussions would also have to take place with airlines and other users of the facility.

For now, airport layout experts are looking at what is required to improve the facility, after which architects are expected to be hired to design the concept within the next six months.

Mr Bolt said any expansion of the runway at the Woodbourne site would be demand driven and would not be taken without a clear indication it was necessary.

The company was in talks with landowners near the airport about what enlarging the runway might mean to them.

It was necessary to get such discussions under way early to make it a more straightforward process for the company and the Marlborough District Council if such a plan ever went ahead, he said.

Mr Bolt said larger planes might be required if commercial demand drove passenger numbers higher, while there was also a possibility the air force might require a larger runway at some stage.

Destination Marlborough chief executive Paul Yeo said an improvement to the airport terminal was logical given that it appeared to be under pressure during peak periods.

By ANNA MCINTYRE