New Whangarei Airport

New Whangarei Airport is a planned new airport project to relocate the city's airport to a new site.

Apr-2022. Whangarei District Council confirmed it launched consultation on the future of air transport in the Whangārei District. Whangārei District Council GM Infrastructure Simon Weston said three options for further investigation as potential new airports for Whangārei were on the table along with continuing operations at the Whangārei Airport in Onerahi for now. He said the three sites, Ruatangata West, Ruatangata and One Tree Point West all appear to meet many criteria a new airport would require. This included enough clear flat land for a runway and clear airspace free of obstructions at either end, land for the operational area a new airport would require, and relatively close links to state highways. If a new site is selected several years of work will go into deciding ownership of an airport operation, seeking government contributions for funding and/or ownership, and if the project goes ahead, design and construction.

Mar-2022. Whangarei District Council GM Infrastructure Simon Weston said out of 27 options for a new NZD150 million (USD103.5 million) Whangārei district airport, the council area hosts two sites. Ruatangata has been selected as the preferred site, out of a total of three shortlisted areas. An announcement of the preferred location is scheduled for 20-Apr-2022.

Feb-2017. Beca started evaluation of 28 potential sites for the New Whangarei Airport following a site assessment awarded by Whangarei District Council. Potential sites are greater than 50 hectares with no surrounding hills. Whangarei District Council will add USD87,000 to the USD188,000 study due to the high number of potential sites.

Dec-2014. New Zealand's Whangarei District Council announced it is undertaking preliminary site investigations for a new Whangarei Airport, after the consulting firm, Beca, completed a study regarding the future of air transport in the district. According to the 'Whangarei Airport Strategic Study', the existing facility has a "life-span of only 10-15 years", adding a runway extension would potentially cost the council approximately NZD140 million (USD110 million). The consulting company recommended the council to consider constructing a new airport to serve the region as the extension "would breach many planning controls" and "would be prohibitively expensive". Beca stated the proposed Port Nikau site would cost approximately NZD148 million (USD116 million), advising the council it is "unsuitable" for development. It is difficult to provide a cost for the project given that there is no specific location in mind, but a new airport is likely to be in the region of NZD40 million (USD31 million). Stage Two of the project will provide costs and commercial information for Council to consider in detail. The council will vote on whether to include the project in its draft long term plan. In the interim, the existing Whangarei Airport will receive approximately NZD1 million (USD775,000) in upgrades after city councillors approved plans to undertake short-term refurbishments to facilitate air traffic demand until a new airport is operational.