Air New Zealand Link Embraer 110 at Tauranga Airport

Tauranga Airport is an airport serving the city of

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

, New Zealand. It is located adjacent to

Tauranga Harbour Tauranga Harbour is the natural tidal harbour that surrounds Tauranga CBD and the Mount Maunganui area of Tauranga, New Zealand, and which flows into the Pacific Ocean at Mount Maunganui. The harbour is effectively two flooded river systems sepa ...

in the suburb of

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of Tauranga located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harb ...

, approximately 3 km northeast of Tauranga CBD. The terminal is located to the north of the runway, on Jean Batten Drive, and consists of a two-storey building with four tarmac gates.

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

serves the airport, with flights to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. A further two regional airlines also operate to the airport, as well as scenic and charter flights, skydiving operations and general aviation.

History

In 1935, the Tauranga Aero Club leased land adjacent to Tauranga Harbour in Mount Maunganui to establish an aerodrome. Up until then, the only airfield serving the town was a runway on the eastern side of the Waikareao Estuary which was only usable during low tide, and it was deemed that a permanent facility was going to be necessary in order to cater for growing demand in the region. The airport opened in 1939 to great celebrations and, later the same year, it was taken over by the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

, due to the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During the period of military use, the runways were extended and a hangar was constructed, and the airport was predominantly used as a training station for pilots. The airport was returned to the Tauranga Aero Club in 1945, and in 1946 the club began passenger flights from Tauranga to

Mōtītī Island Mōtītī Island is an island in the Bay of Plenty, off the coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is north-east of Papamoa Beach on the mainland and north-east of Tauranga. There were 18 homes occupied by 27 people on the island in the 20 ...

, and later added flights to

Matakana Island Matakana Island is located in the western Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. A long, flat barrier island, it is in length but rarely more than wide. The island has been continuously populated for centuries by Māori tribes that ar ...

. In 1947, the

New Zealand National Airways Corporation New Zealand National Airways Corporation, popularly known as NAC, established by the New Zealand National Airways Act, 1945, was the national domestic airline of New Zealand until 1978 when it amalgamated with New Zealand's international airli ...

, commonly known as NAC, began passenger flights to the airport. From June 1966 until August 1967, the main runway was closed for sealing and throughout this period larger aircraft, including those operated by NAC, were unable to serve the airport. During the closure, Adastra Aviation operated fights from Tauranga to Auckland and

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

using aircraft small enough to use the secondary runways. When the sealing work was completed in August 1967, NAC flew

Fokker Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

aircraft to Tauranga for the first time. In 1978, Air New Zealand took over passenger services to the airport, after merging with NAC. In 1998, the airport, now under the ownership of the Tauranga District Council, extended its runway to the east to reach its current length of 1,825m. In the following years, the terminal was enlarged and upgraded, with a second storey added containing a Koru Club regional lounge and a conference room. In March 2000, Origin Pacific Airways commenced flights between Tauranga and Auckland with 19-seat BAE Jetstream 32 aircraft. From September 2002, following several reductions in frequency, this service was replaced by flights to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, where passengers could connect to other Origin Pacific Airways flights to destinations including Auckland and Wellington. Eventually this service too was cut; but in June 2006, Origin Pacific Airways returned to Tauranga with services to Christchurch with 28-seat BAE Jetstream 41 aircraft. This was the airport's first regular non-stop flight to the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, but it ceased two months after its commencement, in August 2006, when Origin Pacific Airways ended its passenger services. In October 2007, Air New Zealand launched flights to Christchurch, operated by its subsidiary Air Nelson, to supplement its existing flights to Auckland and Wellington which were operated by both Air Nelson and Eagle Airways. Those subsidiaries were operated by 50-seat Bombardier Q300 and 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft. Air New Zealand used to operate 33-seat Saab 340A aircraft from Auckland and Wellington but then the Saab 340A was replaced by the Bombardier Q300. In 2010, the airport undertook a further expansion of the terminal which took 6 months, and included larger check in and

baggage claim 200px, Baggage carousel In airport terminals, a baggage reclaim area is an area where arriving passengers claim checked-in baggage after disembarking from an airline flight. The alternative term baggage claim is used at airports in the US and ...

areas as well as an expansion of the terminal by 830 square metres. The apron was also expanded to allow a fourth parking spot for overnight aircraft. In January 2013, Air New Zealand started using its subsidiary Mount Cook Airlines, which operates 68 seat ATR 72 aircraft on selected flights. During 2016, the short lived

Kiwi Regional Airlines Kiwi Regional Airlines was an airline based in Hamilton, New Zealand which operated domestic flights within New Zealand between October 2015 and July 2016. It was founded in 2014 by local businessman Ewan Wilson, who previously was the CEO of ...

served

from

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

via Nelson with 34-seat Saab 340A aircraft. In June 2022,

Barrier Air Barrier Air is a New Zealand airline that was established in 1983 by Jim Bergman as Great Barrier Airlines. The head office is located at the Domestic Terminal at Auckland Airport in Māngere, with additional offices in the terminal buildings ...

announced a new air service from Tauranga to

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island () lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest List of islands of New Zealand, island of New Zealand. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, Great Barrier ...

which commenced in December; the route is operated using a

Cessna Grand Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA ...

airplane.

Operations

is the major operator and serves the airport through its regional subsidiaries

Mount Cook Airline Mount Cook Airline was a regional airline based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Formerly part of the Mount Cook Group and latterly a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, it operated scheduled services throughout the country under the Air New Zealand ...

and

Air Nelson Air Nelson was a regional airline based in Nelson, New Zealand. It was founded as an independent airline in 1979. Air New Zealand took a 50% shareholding in 1988 and 100% ownership in 1995. Air Nelson operated services on provincial routes unde ...

using

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...

and

Bombardier Q300 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was bought by Boeing in 1986, then by Bombardier in 1992, then by Longvi ...

aircraft respectively. Currently there are up to nine daily flights to

, five daily flights to

and three daily flights to

all operated under the

Air New Zealand Link Air New Zealand Link was a brand name under which Air New Zealand's subsidiary regional airlines operated flights. They primarily connected regional centres with New Zealand's three main international airports, Auckland Airport, Wellington Inte ...

brand.

also operates from Tauranga to Claris on Great Barrier Island with a Cessna Grand Caravan. Tauranga Airport is also the hub for regional airline Sunair. It operates scheduled flights to Claris, Motiti Island, Whangarei, Gisborne, Napier and Whitianga with its 3-seat Cessna 172 Skyhawk and 5-seat Piper PA23 Aztec aircraft. There are several scenic and charter airlines based at the airport as well as extensive skydiving, glider and helicopter operations. The airport is home to a large number of general aviation aircraft, the majority of which is stored in hangars to the east and northwest of the terminal. As of 2017, Tauranga Airport is the tenth busiest airport in New Zealand based on passenger traffic and the fifth busiest airport in New Zealand based on aircraft movements. It is the busiest airport in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

region in terms of both passenger traffic and aircraft movements. Tauranga Airport has been the host of the biennial Sportavex fly-in and airshow since 2004. From 2010 this became part of a larger event, the Tauranga City Airshow, which is run by the local Classic Flyers museum and is also known as Classics of the Sky.

Replacement airport

In 2006, a feasibility study was conducted to investigate the possibility of building a new airport at

Paengaroa Paengaroa is a village in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. It is from Maketu, from Te Puke, from Tauranga and from Rotorua. Paengaroa is located on State Highway 33 approximately 2 km from the junction with State Highway 2, and at t ...

Pyes Pa Pyes Pa is a suburb of Tauranga, New Zealand. The suburb is located in the southern part of Tauranga about 40.3 km from Rotorua. It includes The Lakes, Cheyne Road and the TECT All Terrain Park. It is named for Captain Charles Pye (1820 ...

, serving both Tauranga and Rotorua, in an attempt to attract more services to the region, including international flights. However, it was determined that Tauranga Airport had yet to reach full operational capacity, and the cost and inconvenient location of a potential new airport meant that the idea was dropped.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger numbers

References

Additional sources

*NZAIP Volume 4 AD

External links

Tauranga City Airport

Tauranga City Airshow

Classic Flyers Museum
{{authority control Airports in New Zealand Tauranga Buildings and structures in Tauranga Transport buildings and structures in the Bay of Plenty Region