Wellington International Airport - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Wellington International Airport (formerly known as Rongotai Airport) is an international airport

International airport

An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...

located in the suburb of Rongotai

Rongotai

This article discusses the Wellington city suburb of Rongotai. For the article about the New Zealand parliamentary electorate of the same name see Rongotai ...

in Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

, the capital city

Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....

of 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 is a secondary hub and focus city

Focus city

In the airline industry, a focus city is a location that is not a hub, but from which the airline has non-stop flights to several destinations other than its hubs...

for 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...

and its subsidiaries. The airport is operated by Wellington International Airport Limited, a joint venture between Infratil

Infratil

Infratil Limited is a New Zealand-based infrastructure investment company. It owns several airports, electricity generators and retailers, and a public transport business, with operations in New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Infratil was founded by Lloyd Morrison, a Wellington-based merchant...

and the Wellington City Council.

Wellington is the third-busiest airport in New Zealand (after Auckland and Christchurch

Christchurch International Airport

-Facts & figures:As the gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch International Airport is New Zealand’s second largest airport.5,908,077 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009...

), with a total of 5.021 million passengers and 111,000 aircraft movements in 2008. The airport, in addition to linking to many New Zealand destinations by national and regional carriers, also has links to major cities in eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

and Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

. It is the home of many smaller general aviation businesses, including Wellington Aero Club

Wellington Aero Club

Wellington Aero Club is a not-for-profit organisation, and was started at Rongotai, Wellington in 1929. The clubs primary activity is flight training....

, which operates from the general aviation area on the western side of the runway.

The airport is on a small 110 hectares (271.8 acre) site on the Rongotai isthmus, a stretch of low-lying land between Wellington proper and the Miramar Peninsula

Miramar Peninsula

The Miramar Peninsula is a peninsula at the southeastern end of the city of Wellington, New Zealand.The peninsula is 800 hectares and contains the suburbs of Miramar, Maupuia, Strathmore and Seatoun...

. It operates a single 1936 metres (6,351.7 ft) runway with ILS in both directions, capable of handling aircraft up to the Boeing 767-300 and Airbus A330-200 (although the largest aircraft to use Wellington in regular service in 2010 are the 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...

and the Boeing 737-800).
The airport is bordered by residential and commercial areas to the east and west, and Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...

and Cook Strait

Cook Strait

Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....

to the north and south respectively.

Wellington has a reputation of having rough and turbulent landings, even in larger aircraft, due to the channelling effect of Cook Strait creating significant crosswinds to an aircraft approaching from the south.

History

Rongotai Airport started with a grass runway in November 1929. The airport opened in 1935, but was closed down due to safety reasons on 27 September 1947 (grass surface often became unusable during winter months). During the closure, Paraparaumu Airport

Paraparaumu Airport

Kapiti Coast Airport , earlier called Paraparaumu Airport, is on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island, between the Wellington dormitory suburbs of Paraparaumu Beach , Paraparaumu to the east, and Raumati Beach to the south...

, 35 miles north of Wellington, was Wellington's airport, and became the country's busiest airport in 1949.

A proposal to relocate the terminal from the east side to the site of the Miramar Golf Course was put forward in 1956. Houses were moved to make way for the construction of the new Wellington Airport in 1958. The current airport was officially reopened on 25 October 1959, after lobbying by the local Chamber of Commerce for a location that was much closer to the city centre. Paraparaumu Airport

Paraparaumu Airport

was deemed unsuitable for large planes due to adverse terrain. The original length of the runway was 1630 m (5350 ft), and was extended to its current length of 1936 m

Metre

The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...

in the early 1970s, to handle DC-8s

Douglas DC-8

The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...

.

Wellington's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside a corrugated iron hangar, originally used to assemble de Havilland

De Havilland

The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...

aircraft. It was known for being overcrowded, leaky and draughty. This building remained visible from the SoundsAir Terminal from which a covered walkway used to link the old Terminal to the new one, but has since been removed. An upgrade of the domestic terminal, budgeted at NZ$10 million, was announced in 1981, but by 1983 the plans were shelved after cost projections more than doubled. The terminal was extensively refurbished in 1986 by Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand

, and Ansett New Zealand

Ansett New Zealand

Ansett New Zealand was a wholly owned airline subsidiary of Ansett Australia, serving the New Zealand domestic market between 1987 and 2000. In order to comply with regulatory requirements relating to the acquisition of Ansett Australia by Air New Zealand, Ansett New Zealand was sold to News...

built a new terminal as an extension to the international terminal when it commenced competing domestic air services in 1986.

In 1991, the airport released plans to widen the taxiway to CAA

Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand

The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand is the government agency tasked with establishing civil aviation safety and security standards in New Zealand....

Code D & E specifications and acquire extra space, 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. 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 - Te Horo

Te Horo

Te Horo and Te Horo Beach are two localities on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island. Te Horo Beach is the larger of the two settlements and, as its name implies, is located on the Tasman Sea coast. Te Horo is located to the east, a short distance inland. They are situated between Peka...

, Paraparaumu

Paraparaumu

Paraparaumu is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies in the Kapiti Coast, 50 kilometres north of the nation's capital city, Wellington....

, Mana Island

Mana Island, New Zealand

Mana Island is the smaller of two islands that lie off the southwest coast of the North Island of New Zealand . The island’s name is an abbreviation of Te Mana o Kupe, "the mana of Kupe"....

, Ohariu Valley, Horokiwi, Wairarapa

Wairarapa

Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...

and Pencarrow

Pencarrow

Pencarrow is a country house in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated three miles east-southeast of Wadebridge and three miles north-northwest of Bodmin...

- but a decision was made to upgrade the existing site at Rongotai. A major new terminal was completed in 1999 and integrated with the international terminal, which had been built as an abortive first stage of a whole new terminal in 1977, and a 90 m

Metre

safety zone at the south end of the runway has been constructed in order to comply with ICAO safety regulations. A similar zone has been put in place at the runway's north end.

Since 1998 the airport has been two-thirds privately owned by Infratil

Infratil

, with the remaining third owned by the Wellington City Council.

In late 2003 the airport installed a large statue of Gollum

Gollum

Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....

on the terminal in order to promote the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...

, since removed.

In April 2006, Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand

and Qantas

Qantas

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...

announced that they proposed to enter into a codeshare agreement, arguing that it would be necessary in order to reduce empty seats and financial losses on trans-Tasman routes

Trans-Tasman

Trans-Tasman is an adjective used primarily in Australia and New Zealand, which signifies an interrelationship between both countries. Its name originates from the Tasman Sea which lies between the two countries...

. The airport counter-argued that the codeshare would stifle competition and passenger growth on Wellington's international flights, pointing to what it saw as a market duopoly dominated by Air New Zealand and Qantas. The codeshare was abandoned by the two airlines after it was rejected in a draft ruling by the ACCC

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent authority of the Australia government. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974...

in November 2006.

Terminal and piers

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 32300 square metres (38,630.5 sq yd).

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 large retail area on the first floor, looking out onto the runway. The main terminal has three gates, 18-20, which service small piston-engined and turboprop aircraft.

The South Pier contains six gates (4-9) that serve regional aircraft and Air New Zealand Link turboprop aircraft. All are airstair gates.
The South West Pier contains eight gates (10-17) and is used by Air New Zealand domestic turbofan and Link turboprop aircraft; gates 10, 11, 16, and 17 are jetbridge gates used by Boeing 737-300 aircraft.
The North West Pier contains 13 gates (21-28, including 26a - 26f). Gates 21 to 24 are used by JetStar and Pacific Blue domestic services. Gates 25 to 28 serve all international flights.

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 facilatation of RNZAF flights and flights of overseas military forces. The current building was built 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, utilizing both civilian and military modes of transport.

Runway

The shortness of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport, and possible overseas destinations are limited to a small number of destinations in Australasia and the Pacific. This has led to a de facto duopoly by Air New Zealand and Qantas on international flights out of Wellington.

At 1936 metres (6,351.7 ft), Wellington's runway is shorter than some New Zealand domestic airport runways, including Palmerston North and Invercargill. The Boeing 737

Boeing 737

The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...

and Airbus A320

Airbus A320

aircraft currently using Wellington cannot take off when fully loaded, as their take-off run at maximum take-off weight

Maximum Take-Off Weight

The Maximum Takeoff Weight or Maximum Takeoff Mass of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot of the aircraft is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogous term for rockets is Gross Lift-Off Mass, or GLOW...

(MTOW) is longer than the runway (2300 metre for the 737 and 2100 m (6,889.8 ft) for the A320). More powerful larger mid-sized airliners such as the Boeing 757

Boeing 757

The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...

, Boeing 767

Boeing 767

The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...

and Airbus A330

Airbus A330

The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....

-200 can take off with ease but regular passenger numbers do not warrant their use, although both Air New Zealand and Qantas fly in their Boeing 767-300s for one-off events such as international sports fixtures, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force fly in their Boeing 757 transport aircraft for transport of the Governor-General or Prime Minister.

Planes larger than the 767 and A330 have landed at Wellington, but not in regular revenue service.

A Gulf Air
Gulf Air
Gulf Air is the principal flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Headquartered in Muharraq, adjacent to Bahrain International Airport, the airline operates scheduled services to 45 destinations in 28 countries across Africa, Asia and Europe. Its main base is Bahrain International Airport...

Airbus A340-300 carrying the Bahrain national football team
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...

landed in November 2009 for the World Cup qualifier against New Zealand at Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...

. However, the short runway meant on the outbound leg that the plane had to stop at Sydney for refuelling.
On 9 February 2011, Air New Zealand landed its brand new Boeing 777-300ER
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...

ZK-OKM for a open day of the aircraft's new long-haul cabin. Special training was required by the crew to be able to land the largest twinjet in the world at Wellington.
Following the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Air New Zealand utilised some of its Boeing 777-200ER fleet in evacuating people wanting to leave Christchurch and ferrying essential supplies into the city. As the flights were only 300 km (186.4 mi) long, requiring little fuel, the aircraft could operate at full payload in and out of Wellington.

A full-length runway extension, to accommodate long-haul aircraft such as the Boeing 747

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

, has been previously investigated, but would require highly expensive land reclamation

Land reclamation

Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...

into Lyall Bay

Lyall Bay

Lyall Bay is a bay and a suburb on the south side of the Rongotai isthmus in Wellington, New Zealand.The bay is a popular surf beach, featuring a breakwater at the eastern end. It has also been the site of surf lifesaving championships, and is home to two surf lifesaving clubs. Lyall Bay is a very...

, and massive breakwater

Breakwater (structure)

Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...

protection from Cook Strait

Cook Strait

Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....

. Doubts have existed over the viability of such an undertaking, particularly as Air New Zealand has repeatedly indicated that it has no interest in pursuing international service beyond Australia and the Pacific Islands, and no international airlines have shown serious interest in providing services beyond those points. Air New Zealand has questioned potential demand for such flights, citing the axing of its Christchurch-Los Angeles route in early 2006. Wellington business leaders point out that Christchurch's economy is mainly industrial and agricultural, while arguing that Wellington's economy is based mainly on what they see as the higher-value public service, financial, ICT

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

, and creative sectors. In particular, a survey commissioned by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce found that respondents regarded the airport's limited international capacity as the biggest obstacle to the Wellington region's economic potential, by a long margin over other factors. It has also been pointed out that while Air New Zealand has been scaling back certain routes, it is adding others, most notably Auckland-Shanghai

Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Shanghai Pudong International Airport is the primary international airport serving Shanghai, China, and a major aviation hub in Asia. The other major airport in Shanghai, Hongqiao, mainly serves domestic flights...

from 6 November 2006, and extending its Auckland-Hong Kong service to London Heathrow.

In 2011, the Wellington City Council, Mayor Celia Wade-Brown

Celia Wade-Brown

Celia Wade-Brown is the 34th and current Mayor of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. She is the third woman to fill that role, replacing centre-right Kerry Prendergast. She is the second Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand mayor of a major New Zealand city, after Dunedin's Sukhi Turner...

and local business leaders reiterated their support for lengthening the runway, as part of the Airport's 2030 Long Term Plan.

The SP era

Because of the runway limitations, Qantas

Qantas

purchased two short-bodied "Special Performance" 747SP

Boeing 747SP

The Boeing 747SP is a modified version of the Boeing 747 jet airliner which was designed for ultra-long-range flights. The SP stands for "Special Performance". Compared with its predecessor, the 747-100, the 747SP retains its wide-body, four-engine layout, along with its double-deck design, but...

for flights between Wellington and Australia during the first half of the 1980s. Air New Zealand operated DC-8s

Douglas DC-8

The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...

from Wellington on trans-Tasman routes, but when the planes were retired in 1981 none of its other planes were capable of operating international flights from Wellington — Air New Zealand's DC-10s required extra runway length, and twinjet

Twinjet

A twinjet or twin jet is a jet aircraft powered by two engines. Such configuration of an aircraft is the most popular today for commercial airliners, for fighters, and many other kinds, because while offering safety from a single engine failure, it is also acceptably fuel-efficient.-Aircraft...

planes were not yet ETOPS-certified. The 747SP addressed this gap in the market. Air New Zealand (after turning down an offer to purchase the type) codeshared with Qantas and the SP proved a glamourous if somewhat expensive operation. This required the dumping of fuel before landing so as to not damage the runway surface and pull up in time on landing. Special markings on the runway assisted Qantas pilots where to touch down and to abort and go round to attempt a landing again. The SP provided sterling service to Wellington until 1985 when Qantas and later Air New Zealand took delivery of the more capable and economical Boeing 767

Boeing 767

-200ER type.
During this time Pan American Airways took an interest in the operation of SPs into the capital and proposed a possible long-range service to the USA via Hawaii. 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.

Passenger terminal development

The international terminal - partially built by the now-defunct Ansett New Zealand

Ansett New Zealand

in 1986 - has been upgraded in various stages since 2005. On February 19, 2008, Wellington Airport announced the proposed design for its new, expanded international terminal. http://wellingtonairport.co.nz/html/business/popup/TheRock.html The design, nicknamed "The Rock" and penned by Studio Pacific Architecture and Warren & Mahoney, was a deliberate departure from traditional airport terminal design, and has aroused a great deal of controversy. "The Rock" opened in October 2010.

The upgrade of the international terminal is intended to double the existing capacity from 500 passengers per hour to 1000, and has been done in anticipation of the entry into service of the Boeing 787

Boeing 787

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 210 to 290 passengers, depending on the variant. Boeing states that it is the company's most fuel-efficient airliner and the world's first major airliner to use...

and Airbus A350

Airbus A350

The Airbus A350 is a family of long-range, wide-body jet airliners under development by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.A consortium originally comprising European aerospace companies from the UK, France, Spain and West Germany, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known...

. According to WIAL, these aircraft could fly long-haul from Wellington, opening up the possibility of direct air links to Asia and the Americas if commercially viable. Regional business organisations and the airport have put forward their case to various international airlines for long-haul operations to and from Wellington. There have also been plans for expanding retail operations, as well as building a hotel above the carpark.

Vincent Aviation has a small passenger lounge on the Western apron which is used for air charters. The Life Flight Trust operates a hangar to the south of Vincent Aviation's two hangars.

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. http://wellingtonairport.co.nz/html/business/draft-2030-master-plan/2030-The-Plan.pdf http://wellingtonairport.co.nz/html/business/draft-2030-master-plan/Draft-Master-Plan-Final-for-website.pdf

Access

Wellington Airport's access is by road.

The airport lies at the southern end of the North Island section of State Highway 1, which connects the airport to Wellington City via the Mount Victoria Tunnel

Mount Victoria Tunnel

The Mount Victoria Tunnel in the New Zealand capital city of Wellington is 623 metres long and 5 metres in height, connecting Hataitai to the centre of Wellington and the suburb of Mount Victoria, under the mount of the same name...

. SH 1 then continues to the Wellington Urban Motorway

Wellington Urban Motorway

The Wellington Urban Motorway, part of SH 1, is the major road into and out of Wellington, New Zealand. It is 7 km long, ranges from three to six lanes wide, and extends from the base of the Ngauranga Gorge into the Wellington CBD....

, which takes traffic out of the city and further afield to Porirua

Porirua

Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...

and the Hutt Valley, and on to the Kapiti Coast

Kapiti Coast

The Kapiti Coast is the name of the section of the coast of the south-western North Island of New Zealand that is north of Wellington and opposite Kapiti Island. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Regional Council...

and the Wairarapa

Wairarapa

. The distance from the airport to the city centre is roughly 8 km (5 mi). Several taxi and shuttle

Shuttle

The original meaning of the word shuttle is the device used in weaving to carry the weft. By reference to the continual to-and-fro motion associated with that, the term was then applied in transportation and then in other spheres...

companies service the airport, with a fare to the city centre typically costing NZ$

New Zealand dollar

The New Zealand dollar is the currency of New Zealand. It also circulates in the Cook Islands , Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. It is divided into 100 cents....

25-35 for a taxi and NZ$14–16 for a shuttle

Two Metlink

Public transport in Wellington

Public transport in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is well developed compared to other parts of the country. The system covers the Greater Wellington region, including Wellington city, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa.-Administration:Public transport in...

bus routes service the airport. The major route is route 91 "Airport Flyer", which connects the terminal with central Wellington and Wellington Railway Station

Wellington Railway Station

Wellington Railway Station is the southern terminus of New Zealand's North Island Main Trunk railway, Wairarapa Line and Johnsonville Line. In terms of number of services and in passenger numbers, it is New Zealand's busiest railway station.-Development:...

, then Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt. The second is Route 11 (Seatoun), which stops within a five-minute walk of the terminal. Connections to Porirua, Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa requires changing to a Metlink

Public transport in Wellington

train at Wellington Railway Station.

Public transport to the airport is limited to buses as the Airport is quite distant from the Wellington Railway Station

Wellington Railway Station

, making it difficult to link Wellington Airport to the CBD via a rail link. Feasibility studies, such as the New Zealand Transport Agency

New Zealand Transport Agency

The New Zealand Transport Agency is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing and investigating rail accidents. It was created on 1 August 2008 by the Land Transport Management Amendment...

's Ngauranga to Airport Study, have been carried out to address this gap in the network, with light rail being touted as a solution by public transport advocates.

Previous Stop	Metlink Bus Services Public transport in Wellington Public transport in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is well developed compared to other parts of the country. The system covers the Greater Wellington region, including Wellington city, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa.-Administration:Public transport in...	Next Stop
Terminus	Route 91 Airport Flyer	Kilbirnie Kilbirnie, New Zealand Kilbirnie , a suburb of Wellington in New Zealand, lies 3 kilometers to the south-east of the city centre. Travellers can reach Kilbirnie from the Wellington central business district either via the Mount Victoria Tunnel and Hataitai; over Mount Victoria; or around the coast... Shops towards Upper Hutt Upper Hutt Railway Station Upper Hutt railway station is a two-platform urban railway station serving the city of Upper Hutt in the Wellington region of New Zealand’s North Island. The station lies on the Wairarapa Line, and is on Station Crescent, off Fergusson Drive...

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

Royal New Zealand Air Force

The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...

Sunderland

Short Sunderland

The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....

flying boat scraped its keel along the runway during a low pass in turbulent conditions; it returned to its base at Hobsonville

Hobsonville

Hobsonville is a former Royal New Zealand Air Force airfield which are currently being redeveloped as a new suburb of Auckland, in the area of the former Waitakere City, New Zealand...

and was beached for repair. A Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

Avro Vulcan

The Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...

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

RNZAF Base Ohakea

RNZAF Base Ohakea is an operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Opened in 1939, it is near Bulls, 25 km north west of Palmerston North in the Manawatu...

where it was stranded for several months being repaired.

In 1991 a United Airlines

United Airlines

United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...

Boeing 747

made an unscheduled landing after its intended destination, Auckland Airport, was closed by fog. Although the plane landed safely, all passengers and freight had to be offloaded before it was able to take off again. The plane was originally diverted from Auckland to Christchurch due to fog at Auckland. Whilst passing Wellington, Christchurch was also blanketed by fog. Low on fuel, the flight was diverted to Wellington.

On 21 November 2007, a Cessna 172

Cessna 172

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...

owned by Wings over Whales, departing to Kaikoura on a whale-watching trip, flipped onto its roof as it was taxiing onto the runway in strong northerly winds. Two people were on board and escaped with only minor injuries. The airport was closed for approximately two hours.

On 17 June 2008, a Pacific Blue 737-800 was moved sideways away from an airbridge after a strong gust of wind caught the tail section. Although passengers were disembarking at the time and ground crew were working under the aircraft, no-one was injured.

Airlines and destinations

External links

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