Hokitika Aerodrome is a small, uncontrolled aerodrome located 1.9 km north east of

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of . ...

in the suburb of Seaview on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is also the closest domestic airport with scheduled flights to the town of

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

40 km further north, the largest settlement on the coast. The airport handles aircraft up to

ATR 72-600 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed by ...

size that are operated by the national airline,

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific ...

. The airport has a single terminal and 2 tarmac gates.

History

Air Travel (NZ) Ltd Air Travel (NZ) Limited, a small airline based in Hokitika, was the first airline in New Zealand to fly licensed scheduled air services. They took delivery of their first De Havilland biplane aircraft at the end of 1934 and made it their busines ...

was the first airline in New Zealand to fly scheduled air services. Founded by

Bert Mercer James Cuthbert Mercer (16 September 1886 – 30 June 1944) was a pioneer New Zealand aviator, establishing the country's first commercial airline, Air Travel (NZ) Ltd, in 1934 based around services operating between Hokitika and settlements in Sou ...

in 1934, its first scheduled flight took place on 18 December 1934, from Hokitika to Haast in South Westland. During the Second World War they also flew north from Hokitika to

, Westport and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. Hokitika originally had an aerodrome on the south side of town just over the

Hokitika River The Hokitika River is in the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is about long, beginning in the Southern Alps, emerging from the narrow Hokitika Gorge after merging with the Whitcombe River, and flowing into the Tasman Sea just ...

. The grass surfaces and susceptibility to flooding of Hokitika's Southside airfield were always problematic. On 9 August 1948 the Southside airfield at Hokitika was closed. Plans were well underway for a new airport at Hokitika. The new Seaview airport opened on 17 December 1951. The opening also marked the extension of the Lodestar service to Westport and onto Wellington southward to Hokitika and the introduction of the larger Lodestar marked the end of NAC services to Greymouth. From this point on a road link between Greymouth town centre and Hokitika Airport was established to connect with NAC's scheduled flights. Hokitika received its first true airliner service on 2 March 1953 when NAC introduced its 24-seater

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

service from

Paraparaumu Paraparaumu () is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kapiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Bea ...

(Wellington being closed for the construction of the new airport), Nelson and Westport. NAC inaugurated its Christchurch-Hokitika Friendship service on 20 December 1968. Fokker Friendship ZK-BXI flew the first flight. By 1974 16,945 people were flying through Hokitika each year and from 14 September 1974 NAC introduced Saturday flights from Hokitika to Christchurch. This was the first time Hokitika had a daily air service. Air NZ ATR-72 at Hokitika, 23 September 2012

Air NZ ATR-72 at Hokitika, 23 September 2012

Airlines and destinations

Operational information

The aerodrome is operated by Hokitika Airport Ltd. The airport company is owned by the

Westland District Westland District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is administered by the Westland District Council. The district's population is History ...

Council. The airport has two sealed runways: 03/21 and 12/30. Runway 03/21 is long by wide, with starter extensions at each end. Runway 12/30 is long by wide. The airport has a number of car rental firms represented, and a small snack bar.

References

* NZAIP Volume 4 AD {{authority control Airports in New Zealand

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

Transport buildings and structures in the West Coast, New Zealand

History

Airlines and destinations

Operational information

See also

References