Invercargill Airport
Invercargill Airport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 46°24′44″S 168°18′46″E / 46.41222°S 168.31278°E | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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.svg)  Invercargill Airport Location of Invercargill Airport in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Invercargill Airport (
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History
Today's airport is located on what was a tidal estuary lake. The site was chosen as it is closer to the city than the original aerodrome, Dawson Farm, located a then considerable 10 km away northeast of
The airport's first scheduled service was in 1944 by
When the Government nationalized all airlines to create
Growth
The runway was lengthened periodically over the years to cater for larger aircraft in time, such as
Terminal facilities
The passenger terminal facilities originally developed around a striking "Festival of Britain" styled two-level structure built in 1963, which featured a distinctive lozenge-shaped roof and fully glazed airside walls giving great views of the runway from the upper deck. A ground-level outdoor viewing gallery allowed passengers and well wishers to mingle; this area was in 2002, closed to all but passengers. It was built against the original small 1956-built "temporary" terminal which was turned into the freight and baggage area. The small control tower in the original structure became a convenient skylight upon the completion of a standard NZCAA five-storey "flowerpot" control tower in 1962. A jetway was added by Air New Zealand in 1988 to ease passenger comfort during inclement weather. Airlines also provided premium club passenger lounges for their member patrons. As frequency of air services increased, the ground floor space became cramped while the upstairs space was usually empty. After Air New Zealand removed its jetway in 2012, it was decided to look at refurbishing the ground floor and extending it, or replace the structure which had to be brought up to new Earthquake safety codes.
New Terminal Building, 2016
In 2013 the airport announced a new terminal building was to be constructed at a cost of $13.3 million, with construction funded by Invercargill City Holdings Ltd (Holdco); the then current terminal was over 50 years old and had major seismic issues that needed to be brought up to new safety codes. It was deemed more economical to demolish and rebuild a new terminal. Construction of the new single-storey structure began in 2014 and gradually built over the site of the old terminal in three stages over approximately 20 months. Opened in 2016, it has an area of 2,900 m2, only slightly bigger than the existing terminal of 2,600 m2 but makes better use of the floor area. Air New Zealand installed a new premium passenger lounge for its frequent flyers. Fitted out in local materials to enhance the region's tourist attractions, the terminal is designed for further expansion. In 2019 a new secured passenger and baggage handling facilities were added for domestic (and occasional international) air services.[4][5]
Small is more
Regular jet services operated into the airport from 1975 until 1995, when Air New Zealand restructured all its secondary provincial routes after subsidiary
Return of jet services
In December 2018 Air New Zealand announced it would introduce a direct service from and to
Made "Secured"
With the return of domestic jet services in 2019, the airport had to comply with international regulations. This has involved completely fencing in the airport perimeter, upgrading the rescue truck fleet, installing a screening area for departing passengers using jet services as well as x-ray machines for baggage. It also means the airport now has 24-hour security patrols. Being declared Secured also allowed the removal of restrictions to the occasional international flights that have to use the airport. Passengers can now be cleared through the backup terminal located in Hangar 2 by Gate 5 as well as using the new main terminal facilities.
Today
In 2005, the runway was extended to 2,210 m at a cost of
Regular types using the airport now are the Airbus A320, ATR 72 and the Dash 8 Q-300.
The apron parking gates were refurbished in 2019 with repositioned Gates 1 and 2 given concrete hardstands allowing aircraft up to the heavier Airbus A321 to park nose in to the terminal. Air New Zealand aircraft are pushed back with push-back tractors. Gates 3, 4 and 5 are still turn in, turn out marked.[8][unreliable source?] Runway resurfacing with a fresh top of asphalt over its older sections in 2011 has helped to increase weight limits for aircraft usage.[9]
Commercial operators
International technical stopover
Invercargill is, since August 2019, designated a Fully Secured international airport. Before then it was classed as unsecured and required special clearances to operate occasional flights.
Invercargill Airport has had aspirations from the 1980s through to the 2000s as an international destination with proposals that have failed to get off the ground with nearby Queenstown being developed as a more direct route for jet aircraft. Nonetheless, Invercargill is now used as a fill-up point for international services as well as designated weather diversion airport for flights to and from Queenstown thanks to its longer runway. A rudimentary standby international terminal facility is located in Hangar 2 but is seldom used.
Since July 2012, Air New Zealand had used Invercargill as a technical stop when conditions in Queenstown restrict aircraft from taking off with sufficient fuel to fly directly to Australia due to inclement weather or operational reasons (e.g. high payload). In the past such flights have been routed through
Invercargill now has appropriate fully secured border control measures to service international flights for Chartered services or diverted flights if Queenstown airport closes due to adverse weather conditions. The airport's security services as well as Customs Officers from the nearby Port of Bluff provide official immigration clearance services.[11]
On 3 March 2013, Invercargill handled over 400 passengers on international flights that were diverted from Queenstown due to low cloud.[12]
Minor military and Antarctic operations role
Although only ever a backup airport during the Second World War, military operations have remained rare due to Christchurch being chosen as the main Operation Deep Freeze Base in 1949 and what was then Dunedin's Taieri Aerodrome acting as a departure point for shorter range aircraft heading south. The occasional Antarctic flight did land at Invercargill if Taieri was closed.
Today the airport is visited by aircraft of the United States
The largest aircraft to regularly land at Invercargill is the
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Wellington
| |
| Stewart Island Flights | Oban |
See also
- List of airports in New Zealand
- List of airlines of New Zealand
- Transport in New Zealand
- List of busiest airports in New Zealand
References
- ^ 2013 Annual report
- ^ 2014 Annual report
- ^ Poole, Michele (26 July 2013). "Could a flood this bad happen again?". The Southland Times. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "Departure tax may fly to help pay for new terminal". Stuff.
- ^ "New terminal building for Invercargill Airport". Invercargill City Council. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ "History – Air New Zealand". airnewzealand.co.nz. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ^ "Air New Zealand's first ever direct service between Auckland and Invercargill to begin in August". Stuff.co.nz. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ Invercargill Airport Ltd|website
- ^ Cowlishaw, Shane (26 July 2013). "$5.5m facelift unveiled for Invercargill Airport". The Southland Times. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ a b Invercargill Airport Limited
- ^ Harding, Evan (17 May 2012). "International at last". Southland Times. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ "Invercargill airport goes International for a day". Southland Times. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ Southern DC3 Oddisey, 1996 | Christchurch Antarctic Centre | Southland Museum
- ^ Invercargill City Council/Library Archives