The airport at Rotorua has some problems. First they had to battle a change in flight plans based on a nearby neighbor’s refusal to cut down his trees. Now, the Te Arawa Hapu is protesting flight paths because the airplanes will cause a considerable amount of noise as they fly over the marae – the ancestral homes fo the Ngati Uenukukopako people.
Neighbors protested and the protest was eventually called off after the council agreed to arrange a meeting, slated for the end of March, to discuss soundproofing and other concerns. Sometimes we wonder if the reopening of this particular airport was really worth the effort.