Nelson Airport (New Zealand) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nelson Airport Te Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū
Nelson Airport, 1977
IATA: NSN ICAO: NZNS
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Nelson Airport Limited
Location	Nelson, New Zealand
Elevation AMSL	17 ft / 5 m
Coordinates	41°17′54″S 173°13′16″E / 41.29833°S 173.22111°E / -41.29833; 173.22111
Website	www.NelsonAirport.co.nz
Map
NSN Location in New Zealand Marlborough
Runway
Runway Length Surface m ft 02/20 1,347 4,420 Asphalt 02/20 584 1,916 Grass 06/24 546 1,791 Grass
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 1,000,373
Sources: Airport, AIP, DAFIF,

Nelson Airport, also known by its Māori name Te Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū, is an important airport in Nelson, New Zealand. It is about 6 kilometers (4 miles) southwest of the city center. Many people use this airport every year. In 2017, over 1 million passengers traveled through Nelson Airport.

It is one of the busiest airports in New Zealand. It is the sixth-busiest for passenger numbers. It is also the busiest airport in New Zealand that does not have regular international flights. The airport has a special lounge called the Air New Zealand Koru Lounge for travelers.

History of Nelson Airport

Bristol 170 Freighter unloading at Nelson, 5 November 1952

Work on building Nelson Airport started in 1937. In 2006, the airport was allowed to handle private international jets. On average, about 60 commercial flights take off or land here each day. Many businesses related to aviation are located at the airport.

Air New Zealand's Base

Nelson Airport is the main base for Air Nelson. This airline flies under the Air NZ Link name. They use a fleet of 23 Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 planes for flights around New Zealand.

Air New Zealand, which owns Air Nelson, has invested a lot of money to improve its engineering and technical workshops in Nelson. These workshops also take care of planes from another airline called Mount Cook Airline.

Airport Terminal and Upgrades

The airport has one main terminal building. This building has 9 gates where planes park right next to the terminal. There are also 7 other gates a bit further away.

In 2014, officials found that the main terminal building might be at risk during an earthquake. So, the airport decided to build a new terminal instead of fixing the old one. This new building would be better for the airport's future growth.

The new terminal was planned because more and more people were flying from Nelson. By the end of 2017, the airport expected to have over 1 million passengers each year. It also expected more than 300 flights per week.

Past Airlines and Parking

Jetstar Airways started flying daily from Nelson to Auckland in December 2015. They also started flights from Nelson to Wellington in February 2016. However, these services stopped in November 2019.

In December 2017, the airport added 270 new parking spaces. New exit barriers were also put in place to help cars move more easily. This was part of the airport's development and expansion plans.

Runway Extension Plans

Nelson Airport has plans to make its main runway longer. They want to extend it by 150 meters (about 492 feet) to the north. The airport says its current runway is quite short for the types of planes that use it. A longer runway would allow planes to carry more passengers or cargo.

Airlines and Destinations

Many airlines fly to and from Nelson Airport. Here are some of them and where they fly:

Images for kids

• 

  The former Nelson Airport terminal in 2012

• 

  An Air New Zealand Link Dash 8 at Nelson in 2012.

Statistics

See also

In Spanish: Aeropuerto de Nelson para niños

• List of airports in New Zealand
• List of airlines of New Zealand
• Transport in New Zealand
• List of busiest airports in New Zealand