Queenstown airport is in danger of losing its international status, as new regulations force the owners to extend the runway.
Resource consent hearings are due to end on Thursday, with tourism operators warning the region could lose billions of dollars if approval is not given.
Extending both ends of the runway by 90 metres will mean transporting hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of dirt, to build an embankment into the Shotover River delta.
Destination Queenstown says the runway is needed for trans Tasman night flights.
Four people have opposed the runway extension.
