Wellington International Airport
| Wellington International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| IATA: WLG - ICAO: NZWN | |||
| Summary <tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Airport type</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">Public</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Operator</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">Infratil, Wellington City Council</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Serves</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">Wellington</td></tr> | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 42 ft (13 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 16/34 | 6352 | 1936 | Paved |
Wellington International Airport (IATA: WLG, ICAO: NZWN) is an international airport located on the Rongotai isthmus, 7 km southeast of central Wellington, New Zealand's capital city.
It is a major domestic hub, and provides air links to the major cities of Australia. In 2005 it served 4.6 million passengers.
Contents |
History
The current site opened in 1959, previously being further north, at Paraparaumu. The original length of the runway was 1630 m (5350 ft)[1], which was extended to its current length of 1936 m in the early 1970s to handle DC8s and B747SPs.
Wellington Airport's original domestic terminal was built, as a temporary measure, inside a corrugated iron hangar, and was not replaced for many decades. It was known for being overcrowded. An upgrade of the domestic terminal, originally budgeted at NZ$10 million, was announced in 1981, but by 1983 the plans were shelved after cost projections more than doubled. [1]
In 1991, the airport released plans to widen the taxiway to CAA AC139-06a specifications and acquire extra space[2], which were abandoned after protests from local residents. The plan, had it proceeded, would have involved the removal of the nearby Miramar Golf Course and a large number of residential and commercial properties.[2]
A major new domestic terminal was eventually completed in 1999, and construction is under way to lengthen the south end of the 1936-metre runway by 90 m, in order to come within compliance with ICAO safety regulations. An extension of the runway's north end has also been confirmed as of October 2006. [3]
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.
Ongoing issues and development
  | This article or section contains information about planned or expected future airport. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the airport approaches, and more information becomes available on it. |
The shortness of the runway and the low level of tourist traffic have limited Wellington Airport's overseas destinations to a small number of destinations in Australasia. A full-length runway extension, to accommodate long-haul aircraft such as the Boeing 747, has been investigated in the past [3][4][5][2], but would require highly expensive land reclamation into Lyall Bay, and doubts exist over the viability of such an undertaking (particularly as Air New Zealand has shown no interest in providing international service beyond Australia and the Pacific Islands).
The international terminal - partially built by the now-defunct Ansett New Zealand in 1986 - is being upgraded between 2005 and 2007, in anticipation of the entry into service of the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. These aircraft can fly long-haul from a short runway like that at Wellington, opening up the possibility of direct air links to Asia and the Americas. [4] Regional business organisations and the airport have put forward their case to various international airlines for long-haul operations to and from Wellington. [5] [6] There are also plans for expanding retail operations [7], as well as building a hotel above the carpark. [8] [9]
Air New Zealand has repeatedly indicated that it has no interest in pursuing long-haul passenger operations from Wellington. This has been re-emphasised with the announcements that its main long-haul service from Christchurch, to Los Angeles, is not to recommence, and that Auckland-Singapore services have been terminated since October 2006. Conversely, 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 civil service, financial, ICT, and creative sectors. It has also been pointed out that while Air NZ has been scaling back certain routes, it is adding others, most notably Auckland-Shanghai from 6 November, 2006.
In April 2006, Air New Zealand and Qantas announced that they would enter into a codeshare agreement, arguing that it would be necessary in order to reduce empty seats and financial losses on trans-Tasman routes. 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. [10] The codeshare was eventually abandoned by the two airlines, after it was rejected in a draft ruling by the ACCC in November 2006. [11]
Airlines and destinations
- air2there (Paraparaumu, Blenheim, Nelson)
- Air Chathams (Chatham Islands - Tuuta)
- Air New Zealand (Whangarei, Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Rotorua, Taupo, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Blenheim, Nelson, Westport, Christchurch, Timaru, Queenstown (seasonal), Dunedin, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne)
- Qantas
- operated by JetConnect (Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne)
- Pacific Blue (Brisbane)
- Sounds Air (Picton, Kaikoura)
- Air West Coast (Greymouth, Westport)
- Freedom Air (Gold Coast, Nadi)
Former airlines include:
References
- ^ Wellington City Airport - Wellington City Council Official Brochure and Programme, 1959.
- ^ a b
- ^ Wellington's Airport: The Costs & Benefits of Alternative Developments, C. Gillson, NZIER, 1970.
- ^ Study of the Development of Wellington Airport, W. D. Scott & Co (NZ) Ltd, December 1979.
- ^ Wellington International Airport Master Plan, J.H. Fyson, Wellington City Council Works Department, 1985.
External links
 | Airports of New Zealand |  |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | Christchurch | Dunedin | Hamilton | Palmerston North | Queenstown | Wellington | ||
Categories
Future airports | Wellington Region | Airports in New Zealand