Wellington Airport
Wellington International Airport Taunga Rererangi o Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Māori) | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner |
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Operator | Wellington International Airport Ltd | ||||||||||
Serves | AMSL 13 m / 42 ft | | |||||||||
Coordinates | 41°19′38″S 174°48′19″E / 41.32722°S 174.80528°E | ||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (Year ending 30 June 2019) | |||||||||||
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Wellington International Airport (
The airport comprises a small 110-hectare (270-acre)[6] site on the Rongotai isthmus, a stretch of low-lying land between Wellington proper and the Miramar Peninsula. It operates a single 2,081-metre (6,827 ft) runway with ILS in both directions. The airport handles turboprop, narrow-body and wide-body jet aircraft movements. The airport is bordered by residential and commercial areas to the east and west, and by Wellington Harbour and Cook Strait to the north and south respectively.
Wellington has a reputation for sometimes rough and turbulent landings, even in larger aircraft, due to the channelling effect of Cook Strait creating strong and gusty winds, especially in pre-frontal north-westerly conditions.[7][8]
History
Rongotai Airport opened with a tar runway in November 1929.
In 1991, the airport released plans to widen the taxiway to CAA Code D & E specifications[20] and acquire extra space,[21] which were abandoned after protests from local residents. The plan involved the removal of the nearby Miramar Golf Course and a large number of residential and commercial properties.[22] The Airport purchased land from the Miramar Golf Course in 1994 for car park space.
As recently as 1992, several alternate sites for Wellington Airport were considered –
Since 1998 the airport has been two-thirds privately owned by Infratil, with the remaining third owned by the Wellington City Council.
In late 2003 the airport installed a large statue of Gollum on the terminal in order to promote the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
In April 2006, Air New Zealand and
Fiji Airways began serving Wellington from Nadi on 25 June 2015.[27] Jetstar launched its first international service in December 2014 from Wellington to the Gold Coast.[28]
On 21 September 2016 Singapore Airlines began direct flights between Singapore and Wellington via Canberra.[29] It was Wellington's first direct flight to a destination outside Australia and the Pacific Islands. From April 2018, the Singapore Airlines flight began transiting via Melbourne rather than Canberra.[30]
Terminal
Overview
Wellington Airport operates a single terminal at the east of the airport, with three piers: South, South-West and North-West. The terminal and piers have a total floor area of 32,300 square metres (348,000 sq ft).[3] The main terminal building contains a common check-in area on the first floor and a common baggage claim area on the ground floor. Both connect to a retail area on the first floor, looking out onto the runway.
The gates in the South Pier (Gates 3 to 12), and the gates in the main terminal building (Gates 18 to 20) serve regional piston-engined and turboprop aircraft. The gates in the South-West Pier (Gates 13 to 17) are predominantly used by
Air New Zealand operates three lounges for Koru members: the Regional Lounge on the second floor of the main terminal for members travelling regionally on turboprop aircraft, the Domestic Lounge located after security screening in the South-West Pier for members travelling domestically on Air New Zealand jet aircraft, and the International Lounge located after outbound passport control in the North-West pier for members travelling internationally. Qantas also operate a lounge after outbound passport control in the North-West pier; the lounge are available to Qantas Club members departing on international flights.[32]
Development
The international terminal – partially built by the now-defunct Ansett New Zealand in 1986 – has been upgraded in various stages since 2005. On 19 February 2008, Wellington Airport announced the proposed design for a new, expanded international terminal.[33] The design, nicknamed "The Rock" and penned by Studio Pacific Architecture and Warren and Mahoney, was a deliberate departure from traditional airport terminal design, and aroused a great deal of controversy.[34] "The Rock" opened in October 2010.[35] There have also been plans for expanding retail operations,[36] as well as building a hotel[37] and carpark.[38]
Execujet (in conjunction with Capital Jet services) also operate a FBO and hangar facility for corporate jets and visiting general aviation aircraft on the Western apron. Other notable operators on the Western apron include Life Flight, the RNZAF and the Wellington aeroclub.
In April 2009, the airport issued a new master plan outlining upgrade plans over the next 20 years, including expanded terminal and apron space, and scope for runway extensions.[39]
In 2013 the airport announced that it would be spending $40 million expanding its south west pier at the domestic terminal to cope with increased passengers numbers, with work expected to start in late 2013 and be finished by 2015.[40] In 2014 it announced it would spend $250 million. The main building would be extended to the south by 35 metres at a cost of $62m and the north pier doubled in width for $19m. Extra levels would be added to the carpark and $30m spent in airfield works.[41]
A NZ$1 billion 2040 Master Plan was announced in October 2019. It includes a terminal expansion, runway and taxiway improvements, new freight facilities, additional aircraft apron space and a new, relocated fire station.[42]
Operations
Wellington Airport has one runway: 16/34. The runway is 1,815 m (5,955 ft) long threshold to threshold, with 130 m (430 ft) and 106 m (348 ft) displaced thresholds at the north (16) and south (34) ends respectively giving a total length of 2,081 m (6,827 ft). The runway is grooved, which improves performance of the runway during wet conditions.[43]
The airport has a night curfew from midnight to 6:00 am, although international arrivals are allowed as late as 1:00 am and there is a 30-minute grace period for delayed flights. In 2011, Qantas subsidiary Jetconnect was fined $12,000 after a delayed flight from Sydney landed at 1:47 am, seventeen minutes after curfew.[44]
Air Movements Rongotai
Air Movements Rongotai sits on the opposite side of the Wellington airport runway from the main passenger terminals, its main use being the facilitation of RNZAF flights and flights of overseas military forces. The current building was refurbished in the late 1980s when it housed not only the RNZAF Air movements unit but also 2 MCU (2nd Movements Control Unit) of the New Zealand Army. The role of 2 MCU was the logistic control and movement of defence personal and freight throughout New Zealand and abroad, utilising both civilian and military modes of transport.
Airlines and destinations
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Air Chathams | Chatham Islands |
Timaru
| |
Fiji Airways | Nadi[47] |
Tākaka[49]
| |
Originair | Nelson,[52] Palmerston North |
Qantas | Brisbane (resumes 27 October 2024),[53] Melbourne, Sydney |
QantasLink | Brisbane (ends 26 October 2024)[54] |
Statistics
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Rank | Airport | Passengers |
---|---|---|
1 | Sydney | 160,180 |
2 | Melbourne | 98,869 |
3 | Brisbane | 64,680 |
4 | Gold Coast | 32,169 |
5 | Nadi | 24,716 |
Ongoing issues and development
Runway
The length of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport on a commercial basis, and non-stop overseas destinations are limited to the east coast of Australia and the South Pacific. Most large jet aircraft can safely use Wellington but the short runway severely limits their range to short-haul flights, and passenger numbers on trans-Tasman routes generally do not qualify the use of wide-body aircraft. Air New Zealand has occasionally used wide-body aircraft to cater for high-demand events such as major sports fixtures,
A full-length runway extension to accommodate long-haul international flights has been previously investigated,
According to WIAL in 2009, the forthcoming
In late 2014, the Airport and the Wellington City Council jointly opened the Web site Connect Wellington to promote the case for a runway extension.
In January 2016, Singapore Airlines announced that it would begin services to Wellington via Canberra. The route, dubbed "The Capital Express", flew to Wellington via Canberra four times a week, using a Boeing 777-200 aircraft.[73] The 777-200 was able to use Wellington Airport because the fuel needed to fly between Wellington and Canberra was relatively small; it could not take off from Wellington Airport if it carried the fuel required to fly non-stop to Singapore. The Deputy Mayor of Wellington argued Singapore Airlines' commitment to the capital helped the case for an airport runway extension, and showed that airlines are looking to fly to Wellington and that the extension would cater for that in the future.[74] In 2018, the Capital Express route was redirected via Melbourne instead of Canberra.[30] In 2019, Singapore Airlines announced that they will replace the 777-200 aircraft with the A350-900, starting 1 November 2019.[75]
Boeing 747SP era
Because of the runway limitations,
The 747SP addressed this gap in the market, with Air New Zealand (after turning down an offer to purchase the type) code-sharing with Qantas. Special markings on the runway assisted Qantas pilots where to touch down and to abort and go round to attempt a landing again.[80] The SP service to Wellington continued until 1985 when Qantas and later Air New Zealand took delivery of the more capable and economical Boeing 767-200ER type.[78][79]
During this time Pan Am took an interest in the operation of 747SPs into the capital and proposed a possible long-range service to the US via Hawaii.[citation needed] However the New Zealand Government refused Pan Am's request for the route, citing Auckland Airport as the main gateway for overseas flights and the ability to generate passenger numbers amongst other things.[81][unreliable source?][82]
Access
Wellington Airport's access is only by road. The airport lies at the southern end of the North Island section of
Public transport to the airport is limited to buses as the airport is quite distant from the Wellington railway station, making it difficult to link Wellington Airport to the CBD via a rail link. Feasibility studies, such as the
Incidents
In spite of the short runway and frequent winds, there have been very few safety incidents at the airport. However:
- At the air show held on opening day in 1959 there were two significant incidents. A Royal New Zealand Air Force Sunderland flying boat scraped its keel along the runway during a low pass in turbulent conditions; it returned to its base at Hobsonville and was beached for repair.[86] A Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan bomber aborted its landing when it touched down short of the runway, rupturing its left main landing gear drag link, the wing attachments and engine fuel lines; the aircraft flew to Ohakea air base where it was stranded for several months being repaired.[87]
- On 17 February 1963, Vickers 807 Viscount, ZK-BWO, "City of Dunedin" of the National Airways Corporation overran the southern end of the runway ending up damaged down an embankment on the adjacent public road.[88]
- On Tuesday 8 October 1991 a
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
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