Westport Airport (New Zealand) Explained

Westport Airport
Iata:WSZ
Icao:NZWS
Pushpin Map:New Zealand West Coast
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of airport in West Coast
Pushpin Label:WSZ
Pushpin Label Position:right
Location:Westport, New Zealand
Elevation-F:13
Elevation-M:4
Website:http://bullerdc.govt.nz/airport/
R1-Number:04/22
R1-Length-F:4200
R1-Length-M:1280
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Footnotes:Source: World Aero Data

Westport Airport is an airport in Kawatiri, Westport, New Zealand .

Sounds Air has the only scheduled services into Westport, flying to Wellington using nine-seat Pilatus PC-12s. Air New Zealand previously had daily flights, operated by Eagle Airways Beechcraft 1900D aircraft, until April 2015, when Sounds Air commenced scheduled flights to and from Westport. In 2002 Air West Coast connected Westport to Greymouth, Christchurch and Wellington; these services were discontinued due to high costs and lack of passengers on 27 June 2008.[1] Air Chathams also operates Saab 340 aircraft flights on an Ad-Hoc basis.

History

The airport had services as far back as 1947 with Air Travel connecting Westport to Nelson and south to Hokitika. Later NAC operated these flights onto Wellington with Dragon Rapide aircraft. In March 1952 the much larger Douglas DC-3s were used on the Westport-Nelson-Wellington route. The year ended 31 March 1966 saw Wesport handle 7,557 passengers, an increase from 6,615 the year before.[2] The runway was sealed in October 1970 to allow Friendship flights from Christchurch via Hokitika and onto Nelson and Wellington 6 days per week. Both the northbound and the southbound services flew into Westport in the afternoon.[3] The airport terminal was refurbished in 2007.[4]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Steve. Lowe. Flying on a wing and a prayer. 15 May 2011 . 3rd Level NZ. 18 October 2015.
  2. News: Westport News. 21 April 1966.
  3. Web site: Lowe. Steve. The National Carrier at Westport. 10 May 2015 . 3rd Level NZ. 18 October 2015.
  4. Web site: Westport Airport West Coast, New Zealand. westcoast.co.nz. en. 2018-10-11.