First stage of Hawke's Bay Airport redevelopment complete

Hawke's Bay Airport chief executive Stuart Ainslie and commercial manager Dean Smith in the airport's new arrivals hall. Photo / Supplied

The first stage of a $20.2 million project to expand Hawke's Bay Airport will be ready to welcome passengers to the region in the new year.

Hawke's Bay Airport chief executive Stuart Ainslie said the finishing touches were being made to the new arrivals hall, which would include the airport's first automated baggage system - with the capacity to deal with 2.5 million bags a year.

The 14m conveyor was supplied by Ansir Systems, after a competitive tender process.

Ainslie said stage 1 could have opened before Christmas, but given it was the airport's busiest period, it is better to open it to the public on January 15.

"We're now doing the internal fit-out, but it's important that we don't create any unnecessary stress at this time of the year for passengers, visitors and our commercial partners.

"The new arrivals area is in the new-build part of the airport which has enabled the current airport to operate smoothly without disruptions, so it's best we continue as is.

"We can open when it's a bit quieter and if there's any problems we can resolve these without too much pressure."

The airport recently announced a record turnover of $6.6 million and annual passenger numbers of 715,000, up 8 per cent on a rolling year.

The continued growth and confidence enabled the terminal upgrade to be revised from 2500sq m to 4340sq m, a 74 per cent increase including new commercial/retail opportunities within the terminal at a budget of $20.2m.

"We have been able to finance the expansion from our strong balance sheet, which is a great position to be in."

Ainslie said along with the baggage reclaim system the new arrivals hall would incorporate rental car kiosks and a pop-up café.

There would be no direct access from the new arrival's hall to the departures area of the terminal during the next stage of construction.

"Whilst this is not ideal, the distance between the two areas is not extensive and the airport is confident that passengers will be understanding of this temporary situation."

While it was "very exciting" to open the first stage of the terminal, the first stage represented less than 20 per cent of the total floor space that would be expanded.

The "full wow" of the airport expansion project would not be revealed until the final stage of the redevelopment was complete in mid-2020.

"We have a fully operating airport that is being redeveloped in stages, which does build excitement and anticipation of what will be the final reveal in 2020 but at the same gives glimpses of what will be the end result."

"We're spreading the airport's wings and we want to deliver a place that provides visitors with a true taste of Hawke's Bay and we are working on some exciting projects which will help create something that showcases the best of what Hawke's Bay has to offer whilst enhancing customer experience."

The company had also commenced work on a 20-year Airport Masterplan with a vision of being New Zealand's most vibrant and successful regional airport and reaching 1 million passengers a year by 2025.

The masterplan process would include wide community and stakeholder consultation over the next 12 months.