Wellington Airport's holding out on safety, according to the airline pilots' union.
The airport has applied to extend its runway to cater to long haul flights, but claim there's no need to increase the safety areas for those larger planes.
"It is such a critical flight safety issue for the travelling public," said the New Zealand Airline Pilots' Association's president, Tim Robinson.
Wellington Airport's runway end safety areas (RESAs) are 90 metres long, the minimum required by local and international law.
Safety areas are designed to give planes extra room to stop in an emergency to minimise the chances of a plane going off the end.
There are big drop offs at either end of Wellington's runway, and pilots already worry about what would happen if there were an overrun.
"Wellington Airport and (the Director of the Civil Aviation Authority) should be looking at international best practice, which we believe is 240 metres," said Mr Robinson.
In 2015, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) director agreed to Wellington Airport's proposal to extend its runway 355 metres into Cook Strait, without extending the safety areas.
But the Pilots' Association launched a legal challenge that went all the way to the Supreme Court
That Court found RESA should ideally be 240 metres if practicable and no shorter than 90 metres.
"(The rules) require a RESA of at least 240m if practicable. That should be the starting point," the Court said.
What was practicable needed to be assessed in context, it said.
The CAA's Director "was required to consider whether safety could be improved," it said.
Now, Wellington Airport's trying again, applying to keep the 90 metre safety areas but lengthen the runway, saying that was consistent with the Supreme Court's reasoning.
"90 metre RESA are consistent with the rules," it wrote in a document filed with the Environment Court.
The airport said it would cost nearly $1 million a metre to extend the runway safety area.
"The costs associated with longer RESA do not... justify those minor safety benefits," the airport wrote.
"We're talking about the safety of the public as well as the crew that fly the aeroplane," said Mr Robinson. "There's well-documented best practice that 240m RESA is the most safe practice for airport runways internationally."
An aviation commentator, and former head of industry group Aviation New Zealand, Irene King, said "there's an argument that 90 metres is safe".
"There's nothing to suggest Wellington in its present configuration is anything other than safe."
Wellington Airport declined to speak to 1 NEWS on camera, but did provide clarifications and written statements.
But said it could extend to 140 metre safety areas, at a price tag of $44 million, if it built the safety areas right to the edge of its northern boundary overlooking Cobham Drive/State Highway 1.
That would give planes more room to stop, but the pilots said it would also create a 9 metre vertical drop from the runway to the road below.
If a plane went over that edge, the consequences would be significant, Mr Robinson said.
"[There would be a] catastrophic break-up of the aircraft, a significant loss of life in a situation like that," he said.
"The safety of travellers is paramount to Wellington Airport and the Civil Aviation Authority as regulator will decide on the appropriate safety area," said Wellington Airport in a statement.
The CAA was expected to make a decision on the length of the safety areas in October.
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