Christchurch International Airport

History

In 1935 a decision was made by the local council to locate a new aerodrome at Harewood as the best site for Christchurch. Development of the aerodrome at Harewood commenced in 1936 when 227 hectares of land was purchased. In 1937 a 915-metre runway and a 60 square metre terminal were constructed. In 1940 the airport became RNZAF Station Harewood. By 1946 the form of the terminal area development was established with hangars, a small terminal building, the water tower and some barracks buildings. In 1950 Christchurch Airport received clearance for international operations from the government. The two runways and parallel taxiway concept was established in 1953—runway 02/20 at 2.012 metres and 11/29 at 1,741m. In 1954 TEAL introduced Douglas DC-6 aircraft to its trans-Tasman services. In February 1960 a new terminal building, designed by architect Paul Pascoe, was brought into operation.

During 1963 the main runway was extended 427m southwest to 2,442 metres, providing for commercial jet operations. In April 1965 scheduled Boeing 707 jet services started, by Qantas to Sydney. Later in 1966 an international wing was added to the domestic terminal. In October 1968 NAC operated its first Boeing 737 to the airport. SAFE Air introduced a Chatham Island air link to Christchurch in December 1969. In 1972 the north-west runway was completely resealed and repainted. The first scheduled Boeing 747 service arrived on 3 December 1972, a Qantas flight from Sydney. Air New Zealand introduced its DC-10 aircraft to trans-Tasman services at the end of October 1973.

Extensions to the domestic terminal were completed in 1975 with a new two level pier added, extending the total floor space to 16,000 square metres. In October that year, Air New Zealand began a weekly DC-8 service linking Christchurch to Nadi, Rarotonga and Papeete. Air New Zealand opened its No.1 Hangar at the airport in August 1979. In December 1980 the two Australian domestic airlines Ansett and Trans Australia Airlines commenced scheduled services from Hobart within a few days of each other. In July 1984 a main runway extension was completed, the runway was lengthened 845 metres to the northeast, to a total of 3,287 metres. In February 1985 Newmans Air started scheduled de Havilland Canada Dash 7 services on the tourist routes. The first ever Air New Zealand Boeing 767 service to Melbourne and the inaugural Air New Zealand Boeing 747-200 service to Los Angeles via Honolulu and Nadi (known as the southern connection) departed in October 1985. In October 1986 Singapore Airlines started Boeing 747 services to the city. The following month the first British Airways Boeing 747 flight from London arrived. In July 1987 Ansett New Zealand started flying on domestic trunk routes using Boeing 737 aircraft. Also in 1987 the terminal was extended to accommodate Ansett New Zealand and new Air New Zealand lounges; and domestic airbridges were added. Thai Airways began a weekly DC-10 service from Bangkok in November 1988. In March 1989 Air New Zealand introduced a weekly Boeing 747 service from Tokyo and the following month a Boeing 767 service to Perth was introduced. Although dropped years later, the Perth route was restored on a seasonal basis in 2013 with the same aircraft until 2016, when it was upgauged to a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Also in April 1989 saw the first visit to Christchurch by a British Airways Concorde, on a world tour. In September 1990 stage 1 of the International Antarctic Centre tourist attraction was officially opened.

Air Pacific (now Fiji Airways) started a weekly direct flight to Nadi, Fiji in April 1993. Korean Airlines commenced flying to Christchurch in July 1994 using MD-11 aircraft, this was a weekly service from Seoul. In April 1997 Origin Pacific Airways started operations at the airport with flights to Nelson. The Canterbury Aero Club opened a new complex to the north-west side of the airport in October 1998. In September 1998 the new international terminal building was completed, creating an additional 28,000 square metres of floor space. In 2004 expansion of the international terminal was completed to create five more international stands and four more international airbridges. Pacific Blue Airlines commenced trans-Tasman flights from Christchurch (its New Zealand base) in January 2004. Emirates started flying to Christchurch from Dubai and Melbourne with Airbus A340 aircraft in July 2004, later switching to a Sydney-Bangkok-Dubai service with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft before upgrading to a daily Airbus A380 service while dropping Bangkok on 30 October 2016. Jetstar started serving the city with trans-Tasman flights in December 2005. Construction of the five level carpark building commenced in March 2006. Origin Pacific ceased operations in September 2006.

In April 2011 Air Asia X commenced Airbus A330 services to Kuala Lumpur; these were short lived, ending in May 2012. China Airlines began operating seasonal flights to Christchurch from Taipei via Sydney with Airbus A330 aircraft in December 2014.

Airport redevelopment

Christchurch Airport underwent an extensive expansion project, beginning in March 2006 when construction commenced on a new multi-storey $13 million car park building which opened early in 2007. The new building provided 570 new covered car spaces. Once it was complete, part of the existing car park area was closed to allow for the extra space required for the expanded footprint of a new terminal building. A new 45m tall control tower, positioned close to the new car park building, opened in September 2009. A separate $20 million regional lounge was constructed in 2010 in a joint venture by Air New Zealand and CIAL.

In early 2009 work commenced on replacing the old domestic terminal with a new integrated terminal precinct (ITP) to be built over the existing one. The new terminal replaced the existing aging domestic terminal and expanded the facilities of the much newer international terminal. The new building includes:

Stage 1 of the new terminal, including the new check-in hall, new food/retail precinct, new single domestic security screening, and the new regional departure lounge and baggage claim of the new terminal was completed in May 2011, allowing the old international check-in and the old domestic terminal north of the main pier to be demolished to make way for Stage 2. Stage 2, which includes the new domestic baggage claim and the northern half of the new domestic departure lounge was completed in February 2012.

The old domestic terminal was completely demolished to make way for the new terminal. All construction was completed by late 2012, with some work such as demolition of the old pier continuing into 2013. Between 200 and 400 workers were active on the site each work day for almost four years. Despite 11,000 earthquakes, the terminal project was completed on budget. The new terminal was officially opened by Prime Minister John Key on 18 April 2013.

Runways

The preferred option by the airport company for increasing the capacity of the existing runways is by introducing independent operations. This can be achieved by adding a 300m extension to the north-eastern end of the main runway 20/02 which would give it a total length of 3,600m. When the prevailing north-easterly winds are blowing this would allow for intersection departures for most aircraft types while other aircraft land on runway 11. Large wide body aircraft would still have to use the full length of the runway. Runway 11/29 would be widened and extended 244m north-west into the Harewood golf course; the airport has purchased land from the club already. A runway end safety area (RESA) will be added to each end to make it comply with ICAO standards. Eventually all the runways will have a RESA. Also Runway 11/29 may be lengthened up to 2,000m to provide for enhanced take-off capability for Code D (Boeing 767-sized aircraft) and Code E (Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A350) aircraft flying on medium and long haul routes in northwest wind operational conditions. When completed with peak operation periods both runways will be used simultaneously. Statistics indicated that Runway 02 was used 70% of the time, Runway 20 at 20%, Runway 29 at 8% and Runway 11 (predominantly for landings) at 2% of the time.

Terminal and gates

Christchurch Airport consists of a single terminal which caters for both domestic and international flights. It is situated at the intersection of the two sealed runways.

The main terminal building contains a combined check-in hall for both domestic and international flights. It has 58 check-in counters, in addition to self-service check-in kiosks. A common baggage claim hall is also located on the ground floor. There is a large retail area on the first floor, with many food and retail outlets as well as waiting areas. A major feature of the terminal is a $15 million state-of-the-art baggage handling system, which is 750 metres long.

The airport has 33 gates in total. The regional wing is located in the south-west of the terminal, and handles all Air New Zealand Link turboprop flights. It has 12 gates, numbered 3-14. The central zone handles mainline Air New Zealand and Jetstar domestic services and has eight gates (15-22); all (except Gate 15, which can be shared with turboprops) are equipped with jetbridges. The international wing is located in the north-east section of the terminal and has 12 gates (24-35), all except 31 and 33 have jetbridges. Gates 21/24 and 22/25 are shared swing gates which can be used for domestic or international flights as the need arises. Gate 30 has a dual jetbridge which is used for the A380. When available it can also accommodate two narrow body jets gate position 30R and 30L.

The size of the new integrated terminal at Christchurch Airport is 77,591m².

Airlines and destinations

As of April 2015, Christchurch airport is served by 12 airlines with scheduled services. The airport has direct flights to 18 domestic and 11 international destinations. A total of 900 scheduled domestic and 157 international flights arrive and depart each week.

Passenger

A notable irregular visitor to the airport is Uzbekistan Airways, which flies to Christchurch every six months, operating Boeing 767 charters from Tashkent via Kuala Lumpur carrying Russian fishing crews.

Facts and figures

As the gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch International Airport is New Zealand’s second largest airport.

A total of 5,709,272 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport in the 12 months to 31 July 2014, an increase of 3.6 percent over the previous year.

A record 6.31 million passengers travelled in the 2016 year. Airline seat capacity grew 7% to 7.9 million passengers with several new services starting.

Military

Since the closure of RNZAF Base Wigram, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) always flies to Christchurch International Airport when required to visit the city. There are regular RNZAF flights between the main centres of New Zealand.

With the development of Antarctic scientific expeditions, since the 1950s Christchurch Airport has been the base for all Antarctic flights operated by the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the United States Air National Guard and the Royal New Zealand Air Force as part of Operation Deep Freeze.

SOFIA

In July 2013 a Boeing 747SP modified as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) airborne space telescope landed at the airport. A spokesman said it was likely that Christchurch would be a winter base for SOFIA for twenty years. The city was chosen as a southern hemisphere base because of the long airport runway; and the favourable atmospheric conditions and relatively empty airspace in southern New Zealand.

General aviation

There are several general aviation organisations operating from the airport. Garden City Helicopters operates from a base adjacent to the airport (ICAO: NZGI). It operates a medivac service using fixed-wing aircraft (NZ Flying Doctor Service), charter flights and also operates the rescue helicopter in Canterbury with a secondary helipad in Hagley Park adjacent to Christchurch Hospital (ICAO: NZJC). Christchurch International Airport Limited maintains a grass runway parallel to the primary runway for the Canterbury Aero Club. Among the general aviation companies, Mainland Air operates flights to Oamaru. Air Safaris runs a link service to Lake Tekapo Airport.

Aviation Services

The Christchurch Engine center established in 1953 is located at the airport its a joint facility run by Pratt & Whitney and Air New Zealand. The full MRO service is offered to IAE V2500 engines. Formerly PW JT8D engines and Rolls Royce Dart were overhauled at the facility. Air New Zealand has several maintenance facilities at the airport such as Hangar 1 (which can accommodate 6 Code C aircraft) and Hangar 3 (3 Code B aircraft) that overhaul many aircraft types plus a painting facility.

Access, ground transport, and parking

The main access road into the airport connects to both State Highway 1 and Memorial Avenue at a roundabout. The distance from the airport to the city centre is roughly 10 km (6.2 mi).

A drop off and pick up area called 'The Loop' is available on the ground floor of the multi-level car park building, and both onsite and offsite parking, with free shuttles, are available. A number of different taxi and shuttle companies operate services from the airport terminals. Travel time from the airport to the city centre is approximately 15–20 minutes. Prices vary by taxi company and you are advised to ask before beginning your journey. The standard fare is usually around NZ$$45-$65.

Three different city bus routes service the airport terminal. The Purple route to the central city via Avonhead and Riccarton, continuing to Sumner; the number 29 route to the central city via Fendalton; and the number 125 on its route from Redwood to Halswell.

Accidents and incidents