Christchurch International Airport
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| Christchurch International Airport | |||
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| IATA: CHC – ICAO: NZCH | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Christchurch International Airport Limited | ||
| Location | Christchurch | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 123 ft / 37 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 02/20 | 10,785 | 3,288 | Asphalt - Primary |
| 11/29 | 5,712 | 1,741 | Asphalt - Secondary |
| 02/20 | 1,690 | 515 | Grass - Aeroclub |
Christchurch International Airport (IATA: CHC, ICAO: NZCH) is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located 12 kilometres to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood, and was opened in 1953.[1]
The primary runway is oriented near perpendicular to Canterbury's Nor'wester foehn wind. For this reason, the secondary runway is a cross-runway (at a right angle to the primary runway), and is used during Nor'westers by all aircraft up to and including Boeing 767's; USAF C-17 Globemaster III have also been known to use this runway in extreme conditions.[2]
Garden City Helicopters operates from a base adjacent to the airport. They have a medivac service using fixed wing aircraft and also operate the rescue helicopter in Canterbury with a secondary helipad in Hagley Park adjacent to Christchurch Hospital (ICAO: NZJC). Christchurch Helicopters also operate from the western side of the airfield, next to Canterbury Aero Club, which maintains a grass runway parallel to the primary runway.
The airport is about to embark on a major upgrade costing over $200 million, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2010, due to increasing passenger numbers.
Contents |
[edit] Terminal Statistics
[edit] Domestic Parking positions
- Jetways: 5
- No Jetway: 15
[edit] International Parking positions
- Jetways: 9
- No Jetway: 2
[edit] Aircraft Movements
- 2007 - 135,058
- 2006 - 124,464
[edit] Passenger Movements
- 2007 - 5,635,166
- 2006 - 5,455,310
[edit] Military Operations
Since the closure of Wigram Air Force Base, the Royal New Zealand Air Force always flies to Christchurch International Airport when required to visit the city. There are regular RNZAF flights between the main centres of New Zealand. Prior to the withdrawal of the air combat wing, the RNZAF fighter aircraft were also seen at the airport.
With the development of Antarctic scientific expeditions since the 1950s as part of Operation Deep Freeze, Christchurch Airport has been the base for all Antarctic flights operated by the United States Air Force, Air National Guard and Royal New Zealand Air Force. During the Antarctic flying season, which generally operates from August to February, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules and LC-130 Hercules aircraft are often seen on the Antarctic Apron north of the main passenger terminals. The C-5 Galaxy aircraft also makes the occasional appearance, although it has been noticeably absent in recent times. All other aircraft types except for the LC-130, which is fitted with skis for snow landing, must operate on either sea ice or blue ice runways.
The C-141 Starlifter was also a regular visitor before its retirement from active service in 2005.
[edit] Airport Redevelopment
Christchurch Airport is currently under going an expansion project. The construction of the new multi-storey carpark building began in early 2006 and opened early 2007, providing 570 new premium carparks in addition to 1100 uncovered carparks.
The new 45m tall Control Tower which will be positioned near the new Carpark building is due to begin construction in mid 2008.
From Mid 2008 the new Check-In area and Domestic Terminal will begin to be built. The new Check-In area will be communal for both Domestic and International passengers. The new domestic terminal will consist of an additional 3 gates and 1 more baggage carousel. The old domestic terminal will be completely demolished to make way for the new terminal. All construction is expected to be completed by June 2009.[3]
[edit] Airlines and Destinations
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal | Aircraft | Remarks | |
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| Air Chathams | Chatham Islands | Domestic | Convair 580 | ||
| Air New Zealand | Tokyo Narita, Osaka Kansai | International | Boeing 777-200ER | Arrival only | |
| Air New Zealand | Auckland, Dunedin, Queenstown, Rotorua, Wellington | Domestic | Boeing 737-300 | ||
| Air New Zealand operated by Air National |
Blenheim, Hokitika, Nelson, Oamaru | Domestic | Jetstream 32 | ||
| Air New Zealand operated by Air Nelson |
Nelson, Napier, New Plymouth, Invercargill, Tauranga | Domestic | Bombardier Q300 | ||
| Air New Zealand operated by Eagle Airways |
Blenheim, Hokitika, Oamaru, Wanaka | Domestic | Beechcraft 1900D | ||
| Air New Zealand operated by Mount Cook Airline |
Dunedin, Hamilton, Invercargill, Palmerston North, Queenstown, Rotorua, Wellington | Domestic | ATR 72-500 | ||
| Air New Zealand operated by Zeal320 (formerly Freedom Air) |
Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney, Nadi, Rarotonga | International | Airbus A320 | ||
| Air Pacific | Nadi | International | Boeing 737-700 | ||
| Emirates | Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Dubai, Sydney | International | Airbus A340-500 Until 31 Jan 09 Boeing 777-300ER from 1 Feb 09 |
Bangkok starts 1 Feb 09 |
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| Jetstar | Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast | International | Airbus A320 | ||
| Pacific Blue | Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney |
Domestic International |
Boeing 737-800 | ||
| Qantas operated by JetConnect |
Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown | Domestic | Boeing 737-300 Boeing 737-400 |
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| Qantas | Sydney | International | Boeing 767-300ER | ||
| Singapore Airlines | Singapore | International | Boeing 777-200ER |
Current to July 2008
[edit] References
- ^ A Wheel on Each Corner, The History of the IPENZ Transportation Group 1956-2006 - Douglass, Malcolm; IPENZ Transportation Group, 2006, Page 12
- ^ Christchurch International Airport Ltd, Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand
- ^ Airport City - Christchurch International Airport Limited commercial property website
[edit] External links
- http://www.christchurchairport.co.nz/ - Airport website
- http://www.airportcity.co.nz/ - CIAL's commercial property website
- http://www.cac.co.nz/ - Canterbury Aero Club website
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