Christchurch Airport

Christchurch Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic / military
Owner
OperatorChristchurch International Airport Limited (CIAL)
ServesChristchurch
LocationHarewood, Christchurch, New Zealand
Opened18 May 1940; 84 years ago (1940-05-18)
Hub forAir New Zealand
Time zoneNZST (UTC+12:00)
 • Summer (DST)NZDT (UTC+13:00)
Elevation AMSL37 m / 123 ft
Coordinates43°29′22″S 172°31′56″E / 43.48944°S 172.53222°E / -43.48944; 172.53222
Websitewww.christchurchairport.co.nz
Map
CHC/NZCH is located in Christchurch, New Zealand
CHC/NZCH
CHC/NZCH
Location of the airport in Christchurch
CHC/NZCH is located in New Zealand
CHC/NZCH
CHC/NZCH
CHC/NZCH (New Zealand)
CHC/NZCH is located in Oceania
CHC/NZCH
CHC/NZCH
CHC/NZCH (Oceania)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
02/20 3,288 10,785 Asphalt – primary
11/29 1,741 5,712 Asphalt – secondary
02/20[2] 515 1,690 Grass – Aero Club
Helipads
Number Length Surface
m ft
3 12 39 Grass
Statistics (year to 30 June 2023)
Passengers (total)5,690 708[3][4]
Movements94,955

Christchurch Airport (IATA: CHC, ICAO: NZCH) is an international airport serving Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located 12 km (7.5 mi) to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 May 1940[5] and became New Zealand's first international airport on 16 December 1950.[5] It is the second busiest airport in New Zealand, after Auckland and before Wellington by annual passengers, and the second busiest, after Auckland, by aircraft movements.[6][7][8]

Christchurch and Auckland are the only airports in New Zealand that regularly handle Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 aircraft.[9] The airport is curfew free, operating 24 hours a day.

The prevailing wind in Christchurch is from the north-east and to a lesser extent from the south-west, but the city is also affected by Canterbury's nor'wester foehn wind. As a result, the airport has two perpendicular runways: a 3,288-metre (10,787 ft) primary runway (02/20) oriented with the north-easterly and south-westerly prevailing winds, and a 1,741-metre (5,712 ft) secondary runway (11/29) oriented for use during nor'westers. The airport also has a third grass runway, parallel to the primary runway, for use by general aviation.[10] To serve an increasing number of passengers, the airport has completed construction of a major terminal upgrade. The new construction's primary wing opened in 2011 and the upgrade was completed in 2013.

  1. ^ "Christchurch International Airport Limited Shareholdings". New Zealand Companies office. 3 December 2012. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Christchurch International Airport Grass Runway Procedure Briefing Package" (PDF). www.flyingnz.co.nz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Monthly passenger arrivals and departures". www.christchurchairport.co.nz. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  4. ^ "CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT CONTINUES STRONG RUN". Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Christchurch Chronology". Christchurch City Library. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  6. ^ "CIAL FY22 Annual Report & Financial Statements". Christchurch Airport. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Domestic and International Aircraft Movements by Calendar Year" (PDF). Airways New Zealand. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Monthly passenger arrivals and departures". www.christchurchairport.co.nz. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  9. ^ Bayos, Kris (7 September 2016). "Emirates to deploy A380 aircrafts [sic] to Christchurch in October, offer non-stop Dubai-Auckland flights". International Business Times. IBT Media Inc. Archived from the original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Technical Information" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.