Rotorua Regional Airport - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Rotorua International Airport is an airport in Rotorua

Rotorua

Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.
It originally opened in 1963, with a 1378m x 30m sealed runway so that it could accommodate National Airways Corporation

National Airways Corporation

National Airways Corporation was the national domestic airline of New Zealand from 1947 until 1978 when it amalgamated with New Zealand's international airline, Air New Zealand. The airline was headquartered in Wellington...

's Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

and Fokker F27

Fokker F27

The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...

aircraft, replacing the old Whakarewarewa Aerodrome. The old Aerodrome was just north of Sala Street and is now a suburban area.

Today it has more frequent operations, with Air New Zealand's regional subsidiary's. The busiest route is from Rotorua to Christchurch which is operated by Mount Cook Airlines using the ATR 72-500 aircraft. Sometimes an Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...

Boeing 737-300 operates these flights. Currently the largest aircraft servicing the airport are Air New Zealand's Airbus A320

Airbus A320

The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...

s which operate on the Rotorua to Sydney route.

Expansion

Rotorua has two runways. The main runway is the sealed 18R/36L. There is also a much shorter parallel grass runway, 18L/36R. In 2002, the airport's asphalt runway was extended to 1622m. Plans to increase the main runway's length in two stages, initially by 150 metres at the northern end followed by 487 metres at the southern end (including newly-mandated overrun areas), were approved in 2008 after a lengthy consultation process and court battle. The initial increase in length would allow operations by Airbus A320

Airbus A320 family

aircraft to Australia, albeit with capacity restrictions, while the southern extension would allow full-capacity flights by these aircraft.

Construction began in 2008. Construction was completed in 2009, extending the runway to 1,762 metres in length. The total length of the runway and the overrun areas is now 2,304 metres. The runway extensions, in conjunction with the already-completed upgrade of the terminal building and facilities, allows regular commercial jet services between Rotorua and Australia. After the upgrade was completed Air New Zealand announced that it would begin international flights between Rotorua and Sydney on 12 December 2009, despite the airline opposing the expansion earlier, before construction began. These flights across the Tasman operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays During peak times but are often reduced to one flight a week during off peak times.

Opposition

The conversion of Rotorua Airport to an international airport has encountered both strong opposition and support from locals. Critics cite concern over on-going debt servicing and operating costs, anticipated noise levels, the destruction of natural forest and privately owned planted trees to accommodate the newly lowered flight path, and potential safety issues. The Ngati Uenukukopako tribe, whose marae is located at the northern end of the runway, have taken a complaint to the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, and residents at the southern end of the runway continue to resist the Airport Company's programme to enforce cutting of trees which have been a longstanding feature of the area.

Location

The airport is located around 9.17 kilometres (5.7 mi) northeast of Rotorua

Rotorua

on Te Ngae Road (SH30).

Airlines and destinations

External links

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Expansion

Opposition

Location

Airlines and destinations

Further reading

External links