Webinar: Rotorua Airport OLS Survey & Model project with blackmaps geospatial

This webinar explores the Rotorua Airport OLS Survey & Model project that earnt blackmaps geospatial the Aeronautical Excellence Award at the NZ Airports Hui 2025. Using this project as a case study, we will unpack how a modern, GIS-led approach was applied to aerodrome safeguarding and obstacle management, and why the real success of the project went beyond technology alone.

While advanced geospatial tools were an important enabler, the foundation of the project was a collaborative approach that brought together key stakeholders including the airport, Aeropath, and the Air New Zealand aircraft performance team.  By establishing a single, trusted spatial understanding of the airport and its airspace, all parties could understand the same constraints, risks, and opportunities.

This common understanding allowed the conversation to move beyond analysis to action. With the right specialists together having access to information everyone could trust, the project team was able to answer the critical “so what now?” questions — making informed, defensible decisions that delivered tangible benefits for the airport and its users.

The webinar will also touch on key technical aspects of aerodrome obstacle management, including OLS compliance, PANS-OPS surface maintenance and monitoring requirements, and aircraft performance impacts. Importantly, it will explore situations where current OLS standards alone do not provide adequate protection for airport operations, and how a collaborative, evidence-based approach can be used to identify, assess, and manage these risks more effectively.