page_title: Queenstown Airport
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Queenstown Airport / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Artwork outside the Queenstown Airport
context_page_description: Queenstown Airport is located in Frankton, Otago, New Zealand, and serves the resort town of Queenstown. The airport is 8 km from the Queenstown CBD. The airport handled 2.25 million passengers as of 2018 making it the fourth busiest airport in New Zealand by passenger traffic. The airport consists of two runways, one of which is paved, and has a single-level terminal building with nine gates.
context_section_description: Queenstown Airport was first licensed to operate in 1935, but it was not until the 1950s that commercial flights became commonplace, particularly commercial ‘flightseeing’ operations to Milford Sound.  A regular scenic route between Queenstown and Dunedin was first established by Southern Scenic Air Services Ltd on 17 July 1950. Mount Cook Airline was the pioneer of tourist flights into Queenstown.
  In the 1960s, the grass runway was lengthened and regular services from Christchurch began on 6 November 1961 operating DC-3s with three flights a week on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday to Queenstown via Mount Cook and onto Te Anau/Manapouri. Services to other domestic destinations soon followed. Later in 14 October 1968, HS-748 aircraft were used which could carry between 42 and 58 passengers.
  A mainstay of the Milford route was the Britten Norman Islander which began service in September 1970. They were used extensively on the flights to Milford Sound as well as on the Queenstown-Te Anau and Queenstown-Alexandra-Dunedin routes.
  Ansett New Zealand in 1989 starts the first jet aircraft flights (BAe 146 Whisper Jet) into Queenstown Airport. Air New Zealand followed in 1992 with Boeing 737-200 aircraft.
  In 1995, Air New Zealand landed Queenstown Airport’s first trans-Tasman flight from Sydney and more flights quickly followed, mainly bringing skiers during the winter.  From then on, an almost continuous expansion programme began in order to cater for passenger and airline demand.
  The next major milestone was in 2004, when Qantas pioneered RNP AR (Required Navigational Performance, Authorisation Required) operations technology to Queenstown. The precision of the technology significantly improved service reliability which was a considerable benefit to the local community and to visitors.
  Since then, passenger growth has been phenomenal and Queenstown Airport is now New Zealand’s fourth busiest airport and one of Australasia’s fastest growing airports.  It serves as the direct domestic and international gateway to the lower South Island, providing easy accessibility to Queenstown. The airport even has its own claim to fame as a visitor attraction, being voted ‘World’s Most Scenic Airport Landing’ in 2015 by international private jet booking service PrivateFly.
  In PrivateFly.com's 2015 survey to find the world's most scenic approaches, Queenstown Airport received the most votes.
  RNP AR flight procedures introduced by Airways New Zealand in 2012, allowed jet aircraft to fly very precise paths in a range of weather conditions, improving airspace capacity and operational efficiency. The advanced navigation technology put in place has been a key enabler for the airport to pursue evening (after-dark) flights.
  In May 2014, both New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) approved Queenstown Airport's foundation safety case for after-dark flights, contingent on the some additional infrastructure and onboard technology being implemented.
  In June 2015, the airport launched its new international terminal and began the rollout of its next initiative - to introduce evening flights by winter 2016.  Evening flights will allow the airport to further expand its capacity without building additional terminal infrastructure in the short term and take advantage of its full consented operational hours between 06:00 and 22:00, moving from an approximate 8-hour operating window during the winter peak to a 16-hour operating window.  This will spread the peak times more evenly, unlock more opportunities for passengers to access the region, provide locals with more travel options and create job opportunities for the community.
caption: Artwork outside the Queenstown Airport
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