

Previously taxiway 'Alpha' (parallel to the main runway) had been modified and designated as Runway 23R/05L so that rehabilitation work could be completed on the main runway 23L/05R. In 2005, the international terminal was altered, separating arriving and departing passengers. Prior to this, all flights used what is now the domestic terminal. Ī new international terminal, named after Jean Batten, was built in 1977. Qantas commenced the first scheduled Boeing 747 service out of Auckland on Friday 8 December 1972. The runway was extended westward to 3,292 metres (10,800 ft) in 1973. Upon the airport's opening, the runway was 2,591 metres (8,500 ft) long. The airport was officially opened the following year, with a 'grand air pageant' on Auckland Anniversary weekend, 29 to 31 January 1966. The first flight to leave was an Air New Zealand DC-8 in November 1965, bound for Sydney. Much of the runway is on land reclaimed from the Manukau Harbour. In 1960 work started to transform the site into Auckland's main airport. In 1958, the New Zealand Government commissioned Leigh Fisher Associates to survey and design the international airport at Māngere. A September 1948 report by Sir Frederick Tymms recommended that Whenuapai Airport be replaced with a larger purpose-built airport located in either Māngere or Pakuranga. This was chosen, despite the hills adjacent to Whenuapai limiting the ability of newer aircraft to use the facilities, to the lack of cost to the Auckland City Council, as the site was already established as an RNZAF base.

#Auckland international airport flight arrivals departures free#
It has good approaches, is well drained and is free from power lines, buildings and fogs." Prior to rebuilding, this was known as Mangere Aerodrome.įrom 1948, the RNZAF Base Auckland at Whenuapai served as the civilian airport for Auckland. The club president noted at the time that the site "has many advantages of vital importance for an aerodrome and training ground. In 1928, the club leased some land from a dairy farmer to accommodate the club's three De Havilland Gypsy Moths.

The site of the airport was first used as an airfield by the Auckland Aero Club. Māngere International Airport in 1965 Overview The expected completion date for the second runway is now 2025. The timing of the recommencement of construction of the second runway will be demand driven relative to the capacity of the existing runway. The project was put on hold for at least 12 months in October 2009, however, and deferred for a further few years in August 2010 following consultation with airlines and a review of capacity management options. In November 2007 work began on a new northern runway, to be built in several stages and to be used mainly by smaller aircraft, freeing up capacity on the main runway. It has a capacity of about 45 flight movements per hour, and is currently the busiest single-runway airport in Oceania. The airport has a single 3,535 m (11,598 ft) runway, 05R/23L, which is Cat IIIb capable (at a reduced rate of movements) in the 23L direction. It is one of only two commercial airports in New Zealand (the other being Christchurch) capable of handling Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 aircraft. It handled 71 per cent of New Zealand's international air passenger arrivals and departures in 2000. The airport is one of New Zealand's most important infrastructure assets, providing thousands of jobs for the region. It is both a domestic and international hub for Air New Zealand, and the New Zealand hub of Jetstar. The airport is located near Māngere, a residential suburb, and Airport Oaks, a service hub suburb 21 kilometres (13 mi) south of the Auckland city centre. Auckland Airport ( Māori: Taunga Rererangi o Tāmaki-Makaurau) ( IATA: AKL, ICAO: NZAA) is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand, with over 21 million passengers in the year ended March 2019.
