Whangarei Airport
Whangārei Airport | |||||||||||||||
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AMSL 133 ft / 40.5 m | | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 35°46′06″S 174°21′54″E / 35.76833°S 174.36500°E | ||||||||||||||
Website | www.whangareiairport.co.nz | ||||||||||||||
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Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2009) | |||||||||||||||
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Whangārei Airport (
History
The first aerodrome in Whangārei was located on Pohe Island in the upper reaches of
With the outbreak of
In August 1970, NAC replaced its DC-3 service to Whangārei with larger
In 1988, NAC's successor Air New Zealand announced the withdrawal of its twice-daily Friendship service in favour of its newly purchased subsidiary Eagle Airways offering up to five Embraer Bandeirante flights a day. This led to the decline and eventual end of the Northern Districts Aero Club scheduled flights to Auckland. The control tower was closed in 1988 as the airport was deemed too small to continue the service.
In 1991, a new airline,
In September 1998, Ansett New Zealand withdrew its service. To help meet the demand for additional seats, Eagle Airways increased its services by 14 per week to bring the number of Bandeirante flights to Whangārei to 69. This compared with Air New Zealand's previous service of 14 Friendship flights a week.
In 2001, Eagle Airways purchased 16 new
In 2007, Sunair begun daily air services between Whangārei, Tauranga, Rotorua and Napier.[11] This service was discontinued in 2009. Sunair returned to Whangārei in 2015 with a Whangārei to Whitianga via Claris service. This service ceased at the end of 2015 after low patronage. Sunair currently operates scheduled services from Whangarei to Great Barrier and Tauranga,[12] as well as providing flight training.[13]
In 2008,
A runway upgrade in 2009 allowed
In 2011, a Mount Cook Airline ATR 72 landed at Whangārei Airport becoming the first of its kind to do so. The aircraft was on charter from Gisborne.[15]
From April 2015, Air New Zealand removed all Beech 1900D flights from the Whangārei schedule as well as dropping the direct to Wellington service. Flights to and from Auckland were taken over by larger Q300 aircraft and it became the sole aircraft type flying to Whangārei for Air New Zealand.
Airport growth and future
In 2009, airport passenger and flight numbers increased steadily to reach a peak of ten return flights to Auckland and two return flights to Wellington on weekdays.[16] This resulted in the airport's capacity reaching around 140,000 passenger movements per year. However this growth stalled due to global economic downturn and capacity and frequency subsequently reduced.
A project costing $1.5 million to create a 30m takeoff starter extension and reseal the runway was completed in April 2009. The upgrade allowed larger aircraft to land[17] and allowed Air New Zealand, through its subsidiary airline Air Nelson, to trial flights with its Bombardier Q300 aircraft. Daily flights from Auckland commenced in August 2013, growing in time to be the predominant aircraft used on the Auckland route before becoming the sole aircraft used in 2014.[15] In August 2011, the previously weight restricted ATR 72 aircraft made its first commercial service to Whangārei Airport on charter from Gisborne, however the aircraft type has not returned since.
On 30 June 2015 an upgrade to the airport costing $1.02 million was announced. The aircraft taxiway was expanded to accommodate larger aircraft as well as improvements to pathways outside the terminal and the taxi stand. A second airport entry was constructed and the car park was extended with a barrier arm installed. Improvements within the terminal included more seating for passengers, upgraded toilets and an expanded internal baggage claim area.[18] Work began in July 2015 with the last of the upgrades completed by mid-September 2016. The work enabled the airport to be kept to an acceptable and modern standard for the next 15 years when possible relocation of the airport may take place.[19]
Whangārei District Council is investigating moving the airport as the current site is too small to expand significantly to meet requirements for larger aircraft. A runway length of between 1200m and 1350m is needed to accommodate aircraft likely to be in use beyond the next ten to fifteen years. A site at Mata, south of Whangārei was considered but deemed too far from central Whangārei to be viable. Another site at the former location of Port Whangārei was mooted in 2014 but a move is not considered likely due to operational requirements and cost.[20]
On 5 December 2020, Whangārei District Council announced it had paid $7 million for a piece of land northwest of Whangārei as a possible future site for a new airport. This land was purchased as a way of “future-proofing” council assets for relocating the airport when the time arises.[21] In March 2021 the Whangārei District Council was investigating three possible sites, and seeking $150 million in government funding for the move.[22]
Airlines and destinations
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Air New Zealand | Auckland[23] |
Sunair | Claris, Hamilton, Tauranga[24][25] |
Airport services
The airport has a modern air-conditioned terminal building with free wifi and a cafeteria (called Skyline Cafe), which services Air New Zealand. The terminal includes a glass walk-through tunnel to protect passengers from the weather when accessing the tarmac parking gates 1 and 2. The airport terminal has secure parking and three rental car companies.
Whangārei District Airport no longer has an Aero Club after a drop in membership and private flying. Flight training using micro-light aircraft is still available through the Whangārei Flying Club, which merged with the Northern District Aeroclub when it closed down. General aviation training is available through Sunair. Helicopter operators Skywork and Twin Coast Helicopters both operate from the airport. One aircraft maintenance facility, Northland Aeromaintenance Ltd, is available, which conducts maintenance for aircraft across Northland. Private jets are catered for when they arrive, as well as larger group charters.
BP provide Jet A1 and AVGAS on field for aviators. Since 2006, an AWIB (Aerodrome Weather Information Broadcast) system has been broadcast on 119.8.
Incidents and accidents
- 19 November 1955: A Tiger Moth owned by the Northland Districts Aero Club crashed into Whangārei Harbour and two people were injured. ZK-BEC was written off but was shortly after replaced by another Tiger Moth.
- 29 September 1957: A Waco owned also by Northland Districts Aero Club crashed into Whangārei Harbour after suffering an engine failure after take-off.[3]
- 3 February 1965: A Victa Airtourer overshot the runway while attempting to land in drizzling rain. The aircraft ended up bouncing off the roof of a private property and destroying a greenhouse. The pilot was uninjured but the aircraft was extensively damaged.
- 22 November 2005: A top dressing plane en route to Whangārei Airport crashed 5 km west of Whangārei in the Pukenui Forest due to loss of the vertical stabiliser. Both the pilot and his passenger were killed.[26]
- 9 February 2007: A Robinson R22 helicopter training at Whangārei Airport crash landed in Whangārei Harbour. Both people on board were uninjured. The drive belt for the rotor was believed to have failed resulting in the accident.[27]
- 2 July 2010: A Cessna 172 leased by Skydive Ballistic Blondes crashed onto Church St at the beginning of runway 24 due to an engine failure on approach. The pilot was uninjured but the aircraft was extensively damaged.[28]
Photo gallery
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Aerial view of Whangarei Airport, after recent upgrades.
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Whangarei Airport, overlookingMatakohe Island
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Whangarei Airport apron, with Quantum Aviation occupying the old control tower building, 2008. Visible to the right is also the old airport fire station. The Onerahi Volunteer Fire Station is visible in the background. The apron has since been resealed, with new markings and the terminal has been extended.
See also
References
- ^ "Sustainable Futures : Whangarei Airport" (PDF). Wdc.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "William Fraser Memorial Park on Pohe Island : Reserve management Plan - 2013" (PDF). Wdc.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ a b c "History | Whangarei Flying Club Inc". Whangareiflyingclub.com. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Wartime RNZAF Stations". Cambridgeairforce.org.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Onerahi Orbit : Work starting soon on first of roundabouts" (PDF). Onerahi.org. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Hawker Hinds in RNZAF service". Thescale.info. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ a b "3rd Level New Zealand: NAC's last De Havilland DH89 Dominie Service". 3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "3rd Level New Zealand: The Air Services of the Northland Districts Aero Club". 3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "AKL96p5". Departedflights.com. 1 October 1996. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived 8 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Daily flights to other provincial centres set to take off - Northern Advocate - Northern Advocate News". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Whangarei". Sunair. Sunair. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "Flight Training". Sunair. Sunair. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ "Operator sells to spread wings - Business - Northern Advocate News". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Bigger planes tipped for Whangarei airport". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ [2] Archived 24 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Whangarei District Council (WDC) - Whangarei, New Zealand". Wdc.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ Newlove, Alexandra (4 February 2016). "Terminal facelift starts to take off". Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "Onerahi Airport Upgrade - Whangarei District Council". www.wdc.govt.nz.
- ^ "Assessment" (PDF). www.wdc.govt.nz.
- ^ "Possible site for Whangārei's new airport costs city council $7m". New Zealand Herald. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "Up to $150m needed for a new airport in Whangārei, but Government help wanted". Northern Advocate. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "Move to bigger aircraft - Northern Advocate - Northern Advocate News". Northernadvocate.co.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Domestic Flights NZ - Sunair The Big Little Airline". www.sunair.co.nz.
- ^ L, Steve (9 March 2017). "3rd Level New Zealand: Sunair Timetable 56".
- ^ "Fatal accident reports". Caa.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Accident Brief : Occurrence # 07/324". Caa.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Pilot: No time to be frightened - National - NZ Herald News". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2015.