Whangarei Airport
| Whangarei Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Whangarei Airport, on the Onerahi peninsula, surrounded by Whangarei Harbour | |||
IATA: WRE – ICAO: NZWR
  WRE | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Whangarei District Airport | ||
| Location | Whangarei | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 133 ft / 40.5 m | ||
| Coordinates | 35°46′06″S 174°21′54″E / 35.76833°S 174.36500°E | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 06/24 | 3,599 | 1,097 | Asphalt |
| 14/32 | 1,558 | 475 | Grass |
Whangarei Aerodrome (IATA: WRE, ICAO: NZWR) is a small airport 4NM (7.4 km) to the south east of Whangarei city, in the suburb of Onerahi, on the east coast of Northland on the North Island, New Zealand. The airport has a single terminal with two gates.
History
The first known aerodrome in Whangarei was located on Pohe Island, in the upper reaches of Whangarei harbour. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s aircraft, the Southern Cross, even landed on Pohe Island in 1928.[1] This event was recorded in The Northern Advocate local newspaper. This airstrip was not of high quality due to it being built on boggy reclaimed land, so a more suitable site was required.
With World War II looming, the current site of the airport was selected and the RNZAF established a new training base there which became RNZAF Station Onerahi. Flight Lieutenant "Lou" Gates became one of the station commanders.[2] Pilots practiced bombing raids on the nearby Matakohe Island and Rat Island.[3] The airport was established with three grass runways. No. 20 Squadron RNZAF was formed here in August 1942 with Hawker Hind biplanes, personnel and aircraft provided from No. 6 (AC) Squadron RNZAF at Milson, Palmerston North.[4] The squadron was disbanded in July 1943 (before being reformed elsewhere later in the war). The station was reduced to two runways (06/24 and 32/14) shortly after the war, and being converted for public use. Some of the old airforce barracks are still present today, having being converted into residential properties.
The National Airways Corporation began regular commercial flights between Whangarei and Auckland in 1947. The existing sealed runway, 06/24 was upgraded in the 1960s to its current length of 1097 m, and involved moving Onerahi Primary School from the eastern end of the airport to its current location. The airport terminal was built on the northern side of the main runway in the early 1970s, and was upgraded in the early 1990s to cater for Eagle Airways aircraft, along with Ansett New Zealand.
In 2002, direct flights linking Whangarei to Wellington International Airport were begun, using Eagle Airways Beechcraft 1900s which became Eagle's longest regular flight service - 626 km with 90 min flight.[5] In 2007, Sunair begun daily air services between Whangarei, Tauranga, Rotorua and Napier.[6] This service was discontinued in 2009.
In 2008, Salt Air begun an "xpress" service between Kerikeri, Whangarei and Auckland. These flights land at North Shore and transfer passengers to Auckland CBD within 60mins of leaving Whangarei. This service was sold in 2012 to Flight Hauraki who will continue the route.[7]
Airport growth
Up until 2009, airport passenger numbers were increasing steadily, with a peak of 10 return flights to Auckland and 2 return flights to Wellington on weekday.[8]
This increase in demand caused Air New Zealand link to put on extra flights from July 2007. This boosted the airport's capacity to around 140,000 departing and arriving passengers per year. However, due to global economic downturn, capacity was reduced slightly because of less demand.
A recent runway upgrade completed at April 2009 now allows larger aircraft including weight restricted ATR 72 to land. It cost $1.5 million, extended the runway 30m and resealed the runway surface.[9]
On 4 February 2012 an Air New Zealand Bombardier Q300 made its first flight from Wellington to Whangarei.
On 12 August 2013 Air Nelson started trialing Bombardier Q300 to Auckland. The service began operating 2 flights Mon-Sat and 1 on Sun.
From 10 February 2014, most of the Auckland-Whangarei (and vice versa) flights will replaced by Air Nelson's Bombardier Q300 except one flight on Friday and Sunday operated by Eagle Airways. This is due to operational requirements of the Beech 1900 to Whangarei changing, and demand for the aircraft type.[10] The daily Wellington service will continue to be flown by Eagle Airways Beech 1900D.
On the 1st of October, thanks to Northpower, the airport had installed free wifi available to everyone.
Airlines and destinations
Whangarei has several scheduled flight destinations, the furthest away being Wellington at 626 km.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air New Zealand Link operated by Air Nelson | Auckland [11] |
| Air New Zealand Link operated by Eagle Airways | Auckland, Wellington |
| Great Barrier Airlines | Great Barrier Island, Kaitaia, Kerikeri, North Shore |
Airport services
The airport has a modern air-conditioned terminal building with free wifi and a cafeteria (called Airport Cafe), which services Air New Zealand's subsidiaries, Eagle Airways and Air Nelson. The terminal was recently upgraded to include a glass walk through tunnel, to protect passengers from the weather when accessing the tarmac, and parking gates 1-4. The airport terminal has secure parking, and three rental car companies.
Whangarei District Airport no longer has an Aero Club due to a drop in membership and private flying. Flight training using micro-light aircraft is still available. A tandem and sport skydiving company (Skydive Ballistic Blondes) operates from their base on Gloyn Road. Helicopter operators Skywork and Twin Coast Helicopters both operate from the airport. One aircraft maintenance facility (Northland Aviation Ltd) is available, which conducts maintenance for Eagle Airways and many aircraft across Northland.
There are also several private aircraft hangars situated around the airport, including one that previously housed a Aero L-29 Delfín jet in 2008.
Private jets are also catered for when they arrive about twice a year, as well as larger group charters which are fairly common.
The runway is lit by pilot activation of the lights, and Av-Gas and Jet A1 are available by fuel card payment.
Photo Gallery
Click on images to enlarge
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Runway 24/06, Whangarei Airport.
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Aerial view of Whangarei Airport, after recent upgrades.
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Whangarei Airport, overlooking Matakohe Island
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Whangarei Airport apron, with Quantum Aviation occupying the old control tower building. Visible to the right is also the old airport fire station. The new Onerahi Volunteer Fire Station is visible in the background.
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.wdc.govt.nz/FacilitiesandRecreation/ReservesandOpenSpaces/ReserveManagementPlans/Documents/William-Fraser-Memorial-Park-on-Pohe-Island-Management-Plan.pdf
- ↑ http://www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/RNZAF%20Stations%20North%20Island.htm#Onerahi, and 'RNZAF: A Short History'.
- ↑ http://www.onerahi.org.nz/download/Publications/Orbits/20%20Orbit%20Nov_2011.pdf
- ↑ http://www.thescale.info/news/publish/Hawker-Hind-RNZAF.shtml
- ↑ Eagle Airways - Our Destinations
- ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=10950906
- ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503446&objectid=11078745
- ↑ Air New Zealand
- ↑ http://www.wdc.govt.nz/xml/ps.aspx?fn=/resources/13149/top-flight-job-done-on-runway-extension.html
- ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10895747
- ↑ http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/news/move-to-bigger-aircraft/1937626/
