Taupō Airport (

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

: ''Te Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō'', ) is a small airport to the south of

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

township on the eastern shores of

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's northeastern shore. With ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Scheduled flights are operated by Air New Zealand Link, using Bombardier DHC-8-Q300 from

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. The airport is a popular destination for private jets, due to its close proximity to trout fishing, golf, hunting, skiing and luxury resorts. A number of small charter and training operations are also based here, along with maintenance providers and a large search and rescue facility. Taupō Airport is the busiest

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

drop zone A drop zone (DZ) is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers and airborne forces, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land ...

in New Zealand. Prior to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

there were two commercial tandem skydiving companies operating from the airport, however one has since gone out of business as a result.

Airlines and destinations

Operational information

*Airfield elevation 1335 ft

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...

*Runway 17/35, 1386 x 30 metres sealed *Runway 10/28, 670 x 32 metres grass *Runway lighting available *Pavement strength PCN 26 is advisory only *Traffic circuit: RWY 11/17 – right hand RWY 29/35 – left hand **Circuit height: 2300 ft AMSL *RWY 10 is not available for takeoff *Grass parallel to Rwy 17/35 closed take-off and landing Taupo Airport is located within a ''Mandatory Broadcast Zone'' (MBZ) in uncontrolled (G) airspace with type C airspace starting at 6500 ft AMSL and controlled by Christchurch Control. Taupo Airport is the second-busiest

non-towered airport In aviation, a non-towered airport is an airport without a control tower, or air traffic control (ATC) unit. In the United States, there are close to 20,000 non-towered airports compared to approximately 500 airports with control towers. Airports ...

in New Zealand.

2020 Taupō Airport re-development

Funded from Provincial Growth Fund, New Zealand Upgrade Programme and also the Taupō District Council, the project had begun in March 2020 and was completed in October 2021. The re-development will see a new terminal built that caters to the increase in traveller movements. The apron size will also be increased once the old terminal has been removed, which will make room for more aircraft parking. A new car park will also be developed within the airport.

Operators

*Helicopter Services (BOP) Ltd *Heli Maintenance (BOP) Ltd *Lakeview Helicopters *Philips Search and Rescue Trust *Rotor and Wing Maintenance *Taupo Tandem Skydiving *Chopperworks *Super Air *Argus Aviation *Helisika

References

Sources

NZAIP Volume 4 AD

External links

*
TDC Airport re-development press release
Airports in New Zealand Taupō Buildings and structures in the Taupō District Transport buildings and structures in Waikato {{NewZealand-airport-stub