Waitakere City Council has abandoned a bid to turn the RNZAF Whenuapai air base into a commercial airport.
The proposal has been council policy for six years.
The announcement came after Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said the Government had made it clear to Waitakere that it will retain Whenuapai as a base.
However, the Whenuapai Airbase Action Group remains cautious about the council's stance until a formal decision is made.
Chairman Russell Stewart says a Defence review paper about the consolidation of all RNZAF facilities at Ohakea air base is due in March.
Until then, he says the matter can not be viewed as having gone away.
Mayor Bob Harvey says he is looking forward to hearing what plans the Government has for the base.
He says a second airport would have been a legacy for future generations.
Upgrade needed
The Minister says some work is needed to upgrade Whenuapai Air Base, but he does not anticipate it will be a huge extra cost for the Government.
Dr Mapp says the airbase is a bit run down and a programme of work needs to be carried out.
However, he says the Defence Force had been planning to shift to Ohakea, under the previous Government, so a considerable amount of money had already been earmarked for the air base.
He says that money can now be used to upgrade facilities instead.