Nelson Airport (New Zealand) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nelson Airport
Te Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū |
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Nelson Airport, 1977
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www.NelsonAirport.co.nz | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||
 NSN
Location in New Zealand Marlborough
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| Runway | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2017) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Sources: Airport, AIP, DAFIF,
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Nelson Airport (Māori: Te Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū) (IATA: NSN, ICAO: NZNS) is a busy airport in Nelson, New Zealand. It's located about 6 kilometers (4 miles) south-west of the city center. Every year, over a million passengers and visitors use the airport terminal.
Nelson Airport is one of the busiest airports in New Zealand. It ranks as the sixth-busiest for passenger numbers. It's also the busiest New Zealand airport that doesn't have regular international flights. The airport even has a special lounge called the Air New Zealand Koru Lounge for travelers.
Contents
History of Nelson Airport
Work on building Nelson Airport began in 1937. In 2006, the airport was allowed to handle private international jets. Today, about 60 commercial flights take off and land here every day. Many businesses related to aviation are based at the airport.
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 has invested a lot of money to expand its engineering workshops here. These workshops also help maintain planes from another airline, Mount Cook Airline.
The airport has one main terminal building. It has 9 gates where planes can park right next to the building. There are also 7 other gates a short distance away.
New Terminal Plans
In 2014, officials found that the main terminal building was at risk during an earthquake. The airport was given 10 years to make the building safer. However, in 2015, the airport decided to build a brand new terminal instead. This new building will be better for the airport's future growth.
It was expected that by the end of 2017, more than 1 million passengers would use the airport each year. Also, there would be over 300 flights per week. To help with this growth, the airport added 270 new parking spaces in December 2017. They also added new exit barriers to help traffic flow.
The airport plans to make the main runway longer by 150 meters (about 490 feet). This is because Nelson's runway is quite short for the types of planes that use it. A longer runway would allow planes to carry more passengers and cargo.
Airlines and Destinations
Many airlines fly to and from Nelson Airport. Here are some of them and where they go:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air New Zealand | Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington |
| Golden Bay Air | Karamea, Takaka |
| Originair | Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington |
| Sounds Air | Kapiti Coast, Wellington |
Airport Statistics
Images for kids
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An Air New Zealand Link Dash 8 at Nelson in 2012.
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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
