Hawke's Bay Airport facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hawke's Bay Airport
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Air New Zealand Bombardier Q300 on the tarmac at Napier Airport, November 2005
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Crown (50%) Napier City (26%) Hastings District (24%) |
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| Operator | Hawke's Bay Airport Ltd | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Hastings, New Zealand and Napier, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | State Highway 2, Westshore, Napier, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 2 m / 7 ft | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°28′06″S 176°52′18″E / 39.46833°S 176.87167°E | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www.hawkesbay-airport.co.nz | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||
 NPE
Location in North Island
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| Runway | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (July 2017 to June 2018) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Hawke's Bay Airport (also known as Napier Airport) is the main airport for the Hawke's Bay region in New Zealand. It helps people travel by air. The airport handles flights to big cities like Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. It also connects to smaller places such as Gisborne.
You can find the airport in the northern part of Napier. It is about 20.7 kilometers (12.9 miles) from Hastings. Many people use this airport. For example, over 650,000 travelers passed through it in the year ending June 2017. This makes it one of the busiest airports in New Zealand.
Contents
About Hawke's Bay Airport
Hawke's Bay Airport is located in Westshore, a suburb of Napier. It sits on what used to be the Ahuriri Lagoon. This area was lifted above sea level by the big 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
The airport mostly handles flights within New Zealand. However, it can also allow a few international flights. These special flights are for smaller planes with up to fourteen people. They need to be arranged beforehand with specific airlines.
There is another smaller airport nearby called Hastings Aerodrome. It is about 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) south of Hawke's Bay Airport. Hastings Aerodrome is mainly used for flight training and fun flying, not for regular passenger flights.
Airport History
The first airport in Napier was the Embankment Aerodrome. It started in 1932. In 1935, the Napier Airport Board was created. The town of Napier then owned the airport.
Workers needed to improve the Embankment Aerodrome. It had to meet the rules of the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA). So, a temporary airfield was made near the shipping beacons. This new place was between Westshore and Bay View.
People soon realized the Beacons Aerodrome had more room to grow. Because of this, it became Napier's main airport. In 1944, it was chosen as the main airport for the entire Hawke's Bay region.
The CAA confirmed this choice in 1957. However, leaders in Hastings wanted an airport closer to their city. To solve this, the Government set up a committee in 1961. This committee agreed that the Beacons was the best place. They also suggested building a new motorway to make travel from Hastings faster.
A new runway was built. It was 4,300-foot (1,300 m) long. Hawke's Bay Airport officially opened in February 1964.
Recent Airport Upgrades
In 2010 and 2011, the main runway was made longer. It became 1750 meters (5,740 feet) long. Safety areas were also added at each end. This length is enough for larger planes like the Airbus A320. These planes are used by Air New Zealand for domestic flights.
The airport also needed changes to its terminal building. A new security fence was also required. These changes would allow regular jet services to start. There are no plans right now for flights to other countries like Australia.
In November 2013, the airport announced more plans. They wanted to make the main runway even longer, up to 1940 meters (6,360 feet). This was planned for 2018. They also planned a big expansion of the terminal building. This was needed because more and more passengers were using the airport.
A brand new terminal building opened on August 5, 2021. This project cost NZ$25 million. It faced some delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airlines and Destinations
Hawke's Bay Airport connects to several places in New Zealand. Here are the airlines that fly from here and where they go:
| Airlines | Destinations |
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| Air Napier | Gisborne |
| Air New Zealand | Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington |
| Sunair | Gisborne, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wairoa |
Airport Statistics
See also
- List of airports in New Zealand
- List of airlines of New Zealand
- Transport in New Zealand
- List of busiest airports in New Zealand
