Hon Michael Wood, Minister of Transport & Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety
 

Firstly, I want to wish everyone a very warm season’s greetings. No matter how you celebrate, I hope you have
a restful holiday season with your friends and whānau.

Much like last year, 2021 has been another extremely challenging year for aviation. Everyone in the sector, from pilots, to air traffic control, trainers, engineers, cabin crew and everyone else who keeps us flying – I want to acknowledge the work you’ve done and continue to do.

It’s been your hard work that has helped keep Kiwis connected with each other and New Zealand connected with the world, despite the once in 100 year pandemic. The sector has worked alongside Government to ensure we have robust health measures at the border and kept critical freight flowing to support our economic recovery.

2022 will be a critical year for aviation. As we implement our Reconnecting New Zealand strategy and relax our border settings, there will be opportunities for the sector to begin to rebuild. Our Government will continue to work with organisations like NZALPA to help inform our decisions.

It’ll also be the year we modernise the outdated laws governing aviation by passing the long-awaited Civil Aviation Bill. It repeals and replaces the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and the Airport Authorities Act 1966 with a single, modern statute that will provide a platform for safety, security, and economic regulation of civil aviation now and well into the future.

Finally, thank you again. I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year – may 2022 be better than the last couple!