Christchurch International Airport - History

History

Development of the aerodrome at Harewood commenced in 1936. By 1946 the form of the terminal area development was established with hangars, a small terminal building, the water tower and some barracks buildings. The two runways and parallel taxiway concept was established in the early 1950s and in 1960 a new terminal building, designed by Paul Pascoe, was in operation. Since that time, additions to the buildings, development of parking and access and extensions to the runway/ taxiway/ apron system have been almost continuous.

  • 1935 Decision was made by the Council to locate new airport at Harewood as the best site for Christchurch.
  • 1937 A 915 metre runway and a 60 square metre terminal constructed
  • 1940 The airport became RNZAF Station Harewood.
  • 1950 Christchurch Airport received clearance for international operations by the Government.
  • 1960 A new Domestic terminal opens designed by local architect Paul Pascoe.
  • 1962 The main runway was extended to 2,442 metres providing for commercial jet operations.
  • 1966 An international wing was added to the Domestic Terminal.
  • 1972 The north-west runway was completely resealed, repainted and extended to 1,741 metres.
  • 1975 Extensions to the Domestic Terminal were completed a new pier added, extending the total floor space to 16,000 square metres
  • 1984 Main runway extended by 845 metres to 3,287 metres.
  • 1987 Terminal extended to accommodate Ansett New Zealand and Air New Zealand lounges and domestic airbridges
  • 1998 New International Terminal Building completed creating an additional 28,000 square metres of new floor space
  • 2004 Expansion of the International Terminal to create five more international stands and four more international airbridges
  • 2009 Work starts on replacing old domestic terminal with a new building to be built over the existing one.

Read more about this topic:  Christchurch International Airport

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    “As History stands, it is a sort of Chinese Play, without end and without lesson.”
    —Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)

    “No one is ahead of his time, it is only that the particular variety of creating his time is the one that his contemporaries who are also creating their own time refuse to accept.... For a very long time everybody refuses and then almost without a pause almost everybody accepts. In the history of the refused in the arts and literature the rapidity of the change is always startling.”
    —Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)

    “Social history might be defined negatively as the history of a people with the politics left out.”
    —G.M. (George Macaulay)