Wellington Airport

Wellington International Airport (Taunga Rererangi o Te Whanganui-a-Tara; formerly known as Rongotai Aerodrome or Rongotai Airport) is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington. It lies 3 NM or 5.5 km south-east from the city centre. It is a hub for Air New Zealand and Sounds Air. Wellington International Airport Limited, a joint venture between Infratil and the Wellington City Council, operates the airport. Wellington is the third busiest airport in New Zealand after Auckland and Christchurch, handling a total of 3,455,858 passengers in the year ending June 2022, and the third busiest in terms of aircraft movements. The airport, in addition to linking many New Zealand destinations with national and regional carriers, also has links to major cities in eastern Australia. It is the home of some smaller general aviation businesses, including the Wellington Aero Club, which operates from the general aviation area on the western side of the runway.

The airport comprises a small 110 ha site on the Rongotai isthmus, a stretch of low-lying land between Wellington proper and the hilly Miramar Peninsula. It operates a single 2081 m 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 Evans Bay in Wellington Harbour to the north and Cook Strait to the south.

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.

1929 – 1947
Wellington Aero Club formed in 1928 and asked Wellington City Council to set aside land for an airport. In October 1928, the Council agreed to the proposal and allocated reserve land at Lyall Bay for the purpose. Up to 150 labourers levelled the sand dunes and laid down a surface of broken rock and clay to stop the sand blowing away. This was then sown with grass. The official opening of the airport took place on 16 November 1929 with flying displays by 15 planes doing "crazy flying", "bombing" and races.

The runway, which ran in a northwest to southeast alignment to match prevailing winds in the area, was extended in 1933. The first timetabled commercial flights into Rongotai Airport took place on 30 December 1935, when two Cook Strait Airways planes with paying passengers flew in from Nelson and Blenheim.

During this period, concerns about safety were raised. Early aviator Charles Kingsford Smith flew into Wellington and was said to be "perturbed" about conditions at Rongotai, where wind swirled around and the hills were very close. Along with others, he believed that Gear Island at the mouth of the Hutt River in Petone would be a better site for a commercial airport. A scale model of the landscape around the airport was made and tested in a wind tunnel, and, starting in 1936, the height of Moa Point Hill at the eastern end of Lyall Bay was lowered to improve the approach to the runway. In 1937 a government committee investigated possibilities for improving the airport, but its suggestion that a runway be constructed from north to south across the isthmus from Evans Bay to Lyall Bay, which would have entailed removal of Rongotai College and demolition or removal of up to 150 houses, was deemed unpalatable. The runway was extended and other improvements made, but the 1937 committee had warned that the airport was not safe, and finally on 27 September 1947 the airport closed and almost all commercial flights were moved to Paraparaumu Airport, 35 mi north of Wellington.

1947 – 1959
Paraparaumu Airport soon became the country's busiest airport, but it was deemed unsuitable for large planes due to adverse terrain. Between 1950 and 1954, TEAL (the forerunner of Air New Zealand) also operated flying boats to Australia from a base in Evans Bay.

Rongotai was still used for a frequent service to Blenheim and Nelson in 14-seater de Havilland Herons. Wellington Aero Club continued to operate from Rongotai, and the airport was also used occasionally by Royal New Zealand Air Force planes as well as ambulance aircraft transporting patients to Wellington Hospital. The Aircraft Engineering Company had a flying school with three planes based at the airport, and the de Havilland Aircraft Company had a hangar where they maintained and repaired planes.

With the closure of Rongotai Airport, the government had invited a British commission to report on New Zealand airports. The Tymms Report produced in 1948 recommended that the isthmus at Rongotai was still the best site for an airport in Wellington, and Wellington City Council and the Chamber of Commerce also lobbied for the airport to be retained there. After several options for development were considered, Wellington City Council agreed to the Rongotai Terrace scheme in February 1951. This scheme saved Rongotai College and provided for a north-south runway. A major part of the scheme involved the complete removal of Rongotai Hill. Construction of the airport began in 1953, with the six-year project costing £5 million. Spoil from Rongotai Hill was used to reclaim land in Evans Bay and Lyall Bay. About 180 houses at Rongotai Terrace and Wexford Road on the hill were demolished or relocated to the newly reclaimed land at Evans Bay. A pedestrian tunnel from Coutts Street to Miramar was built under the new runway.

1959 – now
The current airport was officially reopened on 25 October 1959. The original length of the runway was 1630 m, and it was extended to 1936 m in the early 1970s, to handle Douglas DC-8s.

In 1991, the airport released plans to widen the taxiway to CAA 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, Paraparaumu, Mana Island, Ohariu Valley, Horokiwi, Wairarapa and Pencarrow – but a decision was made to upgrade the existing site at Rongotai. A major new domestic terminal was completed in 1999 and integrated with the international terminal, which had been built in 1977. A 90 m safety zone at the south end of the runway was constructed in order to comply with ICAO safety regulations, while a similar zone has been put in place at the runway's north end.

In April 2006, Air New Zealand and Qantas 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. 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 Australian Competition & Consumer Commission in November 2006.

Fiji Airways began serving Wellington from Nadi on 25 June 2015. Jetstar launched its first international service in December 2014 from Wellington to the Gold Coast.

On 21 September 2016 Singapore Airlines began direct flights between Singapore and Wellington via Canberra. 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. The flights were terminated in 2020.

Execujet (in conjunction with Capital Jet services) operates 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 Aero Club.

Beginning in 2002, the airport built a bulk retail centre on land it owned to the west of the airport. Between 2009 and 2019 the airport issued various plans outlining upgrades over the next 20 years, including expanded terminal and apron space, runway extensions, terminal extensions, new freight facilities and a relocated fire station. In 2018, a nine-storey car park with more than 1,000 parking spaces was opened, and in 2019 a 134-room hotel opened at the airport, with direct access from the terminal. In 2018, a new air traffic control tower opened next to the airport retail centre. The building was designed by Studio Pacific and Paris Magdalinos Architects. The eight-storey building is constructed on a 12.5 degree angle as if leaning into the prevailing northerly wind, and is built to stand up to a 10-metre high tsunami wave. The former control tower at Tirangi Road was then put up for sale by Airways New Zealand, but was found to be unsuitable for redevelopment due to structural issues and asbestos contamination. Wellington Airport bought the building and it was demolished in 2021.

Since 1998 the airport has been two-thirds privately owned by Infratil, with the remaining third owned by Wellington City Council. In late May 2024, Wellington City Council voted in favour of selling its 34% minority stake (worth NZ$278 million) in Wellington Airport, with the proceeds going towards a major disaster investment fund.

Development
Wellington's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside an existing corrugated iron hangar, originally used to assemble de Havilland aircraft. It was known for being overcrowded, leaky and draughty.

An international terminal was opened in 1977. 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 1987 by Air New Zealand, and Ansett New Zealand built a new terminal as an extension to the international terminal when it commenced competing domestic air services in 1987.

In 1999 a new domestic terminal opened, linked to the international terminal. Designed by architect Jon Craig from Craig Craig Moller, the three-storey terminal has an open-plan retail, refreshment and seating area with a long glass wall overlooking the runway. Five new airbridges were also included in the development. In 2003, the airport installed a large statue of Gollum on the outside of the terminal in order to promote the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This Gollum was later removed, and a new sculpture of Gollum catching a fish was installed inside the terminal. In 2013 two one-tonne eagles with wingspans of 15 metres were installed inside the terminal to promote the second film in the Hobbit trilogy.

On 19 February 2008, Wellington Airport announced the proposed design for a new, expanded international terminal. The design, by Studio Pacific Architecture and Warren and Mahoney, was a deliberate departure from traditional airport terminal design. Featuring round structures covered in weathered copper, the design aroused a great deal of controversy and was nicknamed "The Rock". "The Rock" opened in October 2010.

Facilities
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 m2. 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 and refreshment 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 aircraft. The gates in the south-west pier (Gates 13 to 17) are predominantly used by Air New Zealand domestic jets, and with the exception of Gate 14, all are jetbridge gates. The gates in the north-west pier (Gates 21 to 29) are used by Jetstar domestic jets and all international flights: when transferred to international use, these gates are referred to as Gates 41 to 49 (e.g. Gate 26 is referred to as Gate 46 when used for an international flight).

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 operates a lounge after outbound passport control in the north-west pier; the lounge is available to Qantas Club members departing on international flights.

Operations
Wellington Airport has one runway: 16/34. The runway is 1815 m long threshold to threshold; with displaced thresholds at each end, the take-off run available is 1945 m for runway 16 and 1921 m for runway 34. The runway is grooved, which improves performance of the runway during wet conditions.

The airport has a night curfew from midnight to 6:00am, although international arrivals are allowed as late as 1:00am and there are numerous conditions and exceptions to the curfew, e.g. air ambulances are not subject to the curfew. In 2011, Qantas subsidiary Jetconnect was fined $12,000 after a delayed flight from Sydney landed at 1:47am.

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.

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, and the airport has seen a number of wide-body movements over the years for heads of state and visiting foreign dignitaries, diversions or special promotional events. Singapore Airlines formerly operated a Wellington-Melbourne-Singapore flight four times per week, using an Airbus A350-900.

A full-length runway extension to accommodate long-haul international flights has been previously investigated,  but would require expensive land reclamation into Lyall Bay, and massive breakwater protection from Cook Strait. 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 few 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. Regional business organisations and the airport have put forward their case to various international airlines for long-haul operations to and from Wellington, pointing 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, 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 from 6 November 2006.

According to WIAL in 2009, the forthcoming Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 were originally predicted to have improved runway performance over existing long-haul aircraft, opening up the possibility of direct air links to Asia and the Americas if commercially viable. However, when the B787 was introduced into service, it was found that the "actual performance was not as favourable as was originally envisaged", prompting a decision to extend the north end of the runway. In 2011, the Wellington City Council, Mayor Celia Wade-Brown and local business leaders reiterated their support for lengthening the runway, as part of the Airport's 2030 Long Term Plan, but questions were raised about a possible conflict of interest regarding the then incumbent Mayor's role on Infratil's board of directors. The same year, Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy called for further action on a runway extension, with a spokesman for the airport confirming a proposal to lengthen the southern end of the runway by 300 m at an estimated cost of $1 million a metre which could start early 2015. In 2013, United Arab Emirates-based airline Emirates said it would consider Wellington as a destination while the airport operator said 1000 people connect with long-haul flights to and from the capital each day. Also in 2013, China Southern Airlines expressed interest in starting a Guangzhou to Wellington service.

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. The 777-200 was able to use Wellington Airport because the amount of 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 that 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. In 2018, the Capital Express route was redirected via Melbourne instead of Canberra. In 2019, Singapore Airlines announced that they would replace the 777-200 aircraft with the A350-900, starting on 1 November 2019.

On 8 May 2024, the Airport announced a pause on plans for a runway extension, in order to get consent to rebuild the southern seawall.

Boeing 747SP era


Because of the runway limitations, Qantas introduced two short-bodied Boeing 747SPs on flights between Wellington and Australia in 1981. Air New Zealand operated DC-8s 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 more runway length than Wellington had available, and twinjet planes such as the Boeing 737-200 were not yet ETOPS-certified.

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. 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.

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. 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.

Access
Wellington Airport is only accessed 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. SH 1 then continues to the Wellington Urban Motorway, which takes traffic out of the city and further afield to Porirua and the Kāpiti Coast, and also onwards to the Hutt Valley and the Wairarapa via State Highway 2. The distance from the airport to the city centre is roughly 8 km. Several taxi and shuttle companies serve the airport.

Metlink bus route 2 (between the CBD and Miramar/Seatoun) has a stop within walking distance of the terminal and connects to Metlink train services at Wellington railway station. The Metlink Airport Express bus service, which began on 1 July 2022, links the Wellington CBD directly with Wellington Airport.

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 Greater Wellington Regional Council's Ngauranga to Wellington Airport Corridor Plan, have been carried out to address this gap in the network, with light rail being touted as a solution by some public transport advocates.

Incidents


In spite of the short runway and frequent winds, there have been very few safety incidents at the airport, with the following exceptions:


 * 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. 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.
 * 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.
 * On Tuesday 8 October 1991 a United Airlines Boeing 747-122 N4728U made an emergency landing after its intended destination, Auckland Airport, was closed by fog. It was estimated that if the plane had continued to its planned alternate destination, Christchurch, it would have had an unacceptable 15 minutes of fuel on board.