Introduction
Airport Auckland initially known as Mangere Airport is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand with over 13 million passengers a year. The Airport Auckland is in Mangere south of Auckland city . It is the main hub of Air New Zealand and a new hub of Virgin Australia. Auckland Airport is one of New Zealand’s most important infrastructure assets, providing many jobs and also being the country’s second largest cargo port. It does also cater for over four million visitors each year. Airport Auckland is the fourth busiest in Australasia after Sidney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports. The airport has been rated in the top 3 worldwide for airports handling 5-15 millions passengers annually. In the year 2011 it was voted the 8th best airport in the world at the world airport awards. It has the capacity of 45 flights per hour using single runway. In 2007 the work began on construction of a new northern runway to be used for smaller airplanes to free up capacity on the main runway. This project was deferred in 2010 following consultations with airlines.
History
The airport Auckland began as an airfield used by Auckland Aero club. In 1960 work started to transform the site into Auckland’s main airport and much of the runway is on land reclaimed from the Manukau Harbour. The first flight to takeoff in this airport was DC-8 in November 1965 bound to Sydney. The airport was then officially opened in January 31, 1966. A new international terminal was built in 1977and the most recent substantial upgrade was in 2005 that separated arrivals and departures in response to terrorism.
Features
The airport Auckland has commenced building a second main runway north of the current runway to allow all weather simultaneous operations. The Project is to provide a 1,200m strip for use by smaller regional connection planes. The new runway will increase the capacity of international flights. A new domestic terminal will be built to the north to utilize the new runway. Also an extension of international terminal has recently been completed to allow the Airbus A380 to dock and already Emirates has started flying one of its A380 to this airport. International terminal check-in counters are at the eastern end of the terminal building on the ground level. Two domestic terminal buildings have now been connected by a common retail area and pacific blue has been absorbed with two check-in counters between the Jetstar and Air New Zealand check-in areas. Auckland airport lodge offers a warm and inviting environment with modern rooms decorated in the latest stylish. It is conveniently located near the airport and the passengers will be positioned to take the advantage of all the attractions and the beauty the city of Auckland has to offer. For rental cars Pegasus has a large fleet that operates at Airport Auckland and their charges suite any need and budget. Travelers can choose from a wide range of cars they have. Their staff are also experienced in minibus rental.
Tips and comments
Airport Auckland is one of the top airports in the world and safe too for travelers.