Airport type Public Location Nelson, New Zealand 02R/20L 1,347 Elevation 5 m | Operator Nelson Airport Limited Elevation AMSL 17 ft / 5 m Code NSN Phone +64 3-547 3199 | |
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Website www.NelsonAirport.co.nz Address Nelson Airport, Nelson 7011, New Zealand Profiles | ||
Nelson Airport (Māori: Te Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū), (IATA: NSN, ICAO: NZNS) is located 6 km southwest of the city, in the suburb of Annesbrook, in Nelson, New Zealand. Approximately 1.2 million passengers and visitors use the airport terminal annually. Total passenger numbers for the 2016 financial year were 865,203. It is currently the sixth busiest airport in New Zealand by passengers and seventh by aircraft movements. The airport has an Air New Zealand Koru Lounge.
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History
Construction of Nelson Airport commenced in 1937. In 2006, the airport received restricted international airport status and it has handled international private jets since then. The airport averages 60 commercial flights per day. The Airport precinct is home to 35 aeronautical and support businesses.
Nelson airport is the home base of Air Nelson operating under the Air NZ Link banner, which operates a fleet of Bombardier Dash 8 Q300s on national air routes. Air New Zealand, Air Nelson's parent airline, recently expanded its Nelson base, investing 30 million dollars to develop the engineering and technical workshops. Air New Zealand then announced the Air Nelson maintenance facility would also handle fellow subsidiary Mount Cook Airline's fleet of ATR 72-500/600 aircraft.
The airport has a single terminal building with 9 tarmac gates. A further 7 remote gates are located adjacent to the terminal.
In 2014, Nelson City Council deemed the main terminal of Nelson Airport an earthquake risk and at fault of possible liquefaction. The airport has been granted 10 years to upgrade the terminal to meet current building standards. The Nelson Airport management on 8 September 2015 have decided to rebuild the terminal instead of renovating the existing complex as this will best meet the growth needs in the future. It was also announced that due to increased airline activity strong passenger growth could be expected over the next two years. It is estimated that by the end of 2017 there could be more than 1 million passengers per annum and over 300 flights per week at the airport.
Scheduled
Air New Zealand operate daily up to ten flights to Auckland, twelve flights to Wellington and seven flights to Christchurch.
Charter
Sounds Air offer a number of scenic and charter flight services out of Nelson. Popular charters are Blenheim, Picton, Karamea and Awaroa. Sounds Air provides the main air link into Awaroa for Awaroa Lodge.