More long-haul widebody planes will be able to operate at Wellington Airport following upgraded safety zones on its runway.
As part of a $500m upgrade, a new surface at the ends of the runway will allow aircraft such as Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 777s and Airbus A350s to take off and land.
This would open up the capital to non-stop flights to parts of Asia and flights by airlines using large planes from the Middle East via Australia with no weight constraints.
New Airbus A350s are now available for airlines with specific modifications for Wellington which means they can operate with full passenger loads to and from some Asian hubs.
Airlines that could be interested in non-stop flights include Singapore Airlines (which has previously flown via Australia), Cathay Pacific, China Southern and the Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates which is getting new A350s and flies from Dubai to Christchurch already with a stop in Sydney.
Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said plane makers had been busy.
“The Airbus A350 now has a Wellington specific flight system modification to certify enhanced performance from our runway.”
The manufacturer had also confirmed that all long haul configured A350-900 aircraft delivered after 2022 had the capability to reach hub airports in Southeast Asia with a full passenger load from Wellington non-stop.
“The soon to be delivered B777X aircraft will also have that capability, with the potential to reach other hubs even further afield.”
The airlines will only announce something when they’re ready.
“Don’t get too excited, I won’t be announcing new air services today. But I think the market size is the easiest part of the puzzle for us.”
The airport calculates there is a catchment of about 550,000 in the wider region who are able to get to it by car.
“Wellington is now the largest unflown market in the world for airlines like Singapore Airlines and Emirates with half a million passengers per annum travelling to and from Asia and Europe alone.”
“The market is around twice the size the Christchurch market was at when direct flights to Asia started there almost 40 years ago in 1986,” Clarke said.
But there hadn’t been any decisions by an airline yet.
Airlines hit by aircraft delivery delays had been slow to announce new routes, especially to commercially riskier destinations in New Zealand.
“As well as the runway enhancements we’ll need to wait for new aircraft orders to be fulfilled before carriers will start talking about - let alone setting dates for - new services.”
The runway project is part of plans for $500 million in new infrastructure spending over the next five years, including runway safety improvements, Lyall Bay community facilities and terminal enhancements.
Subject to final regulatory approval from the Civil Aviation Authority, in March next year the airport will also begin installing new runway safety buffer zones designed to enhance the performance of the airport’s safety areas.
The engineered materials arresting system (EMAS) uses energy absorbing blocks to provide an additional safety measure at each end of the airport runway and Clarke said the airport had worked with the New Zealand Air Line Pilots Association (NZALPA) on the project.
The cellular cement blocks crush under the weight of an aircraft, and are designed to slow a plane to a safe stop with little damage, should one overshoot the runway.
The system provides further safety enhancements by extending the usable length of the runway – optimising space currently used for safety zones, providing a landing distance increase of over 130m and a take-off distance increase of 26m on the most restricted runway direction.
The new runway dimensions will provide immediate operational benefits for airlines, allowing Wellington Airport to be used as a regular alternate option for aircraft diversions from Auckland or Christchurch, which means airlines would be less reliant on the military air base at Ōhakea in the event of a diversion.
Queenstown Airport is spending $23m on a safety project using the same technology. Terminal improvements to begin next year include upgrades to arrival and departure areas, a new multi-level bar, and a new café with 270-degree views across the airport.
At Lyall Bay, the airport has leased a site at Lyall Bay Junction to Southward Gin Distillery which is now open, with new waterfront bakery and café Ataahua set to open early next year.
It was also working with Wellington City Council and the local community on new public spaces and facilities for surfers.
The airport is owned two thirds by Infratil with the remaining third owned by Wellington City Council which voted last month not to sell its stake.
New projects would be paid for by aeronautical revenue collected by airlines from passengers, operational cash flow and from debt funding.
A Berl report commissioned by the airport said this year more than 234,000 international visitors will arrive in Wellington via the airport and spend $375 million in the region.
At present there are non-stop flights to Nadi, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast with Air New Zealand, Fiji Airways, Jetstar and Qantas.
The airport’s new brand reflected its connection to the whenua (land), outlining the local pūrākau (story) of how one of Wellington’s original taniwha, Whātaitai, ascended in bird form (Te Manu Muramura) to pass through Rangitatau, a portal to the universe and beyond.
Travellers will see the new brand and logo rolled out via new doorway entrances, a new website and new display panels in the main terminal.
Grant Bradley has worked at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.