Chatham Islands runway extension

By Lyndiman on January 7, 2025 • ( 0 )

The Chatham Islands Airport has been out of date for some time as the government funded a runway extension as part of the COVID fast track projects.

From Stuff.co.nz:

“The completion of a $45 million runway extension at the Chatham Islands airport has boosted hopes for a jet aircraft service to the remote outpost, but until that starts live crayfish will continue to leave for the mainland strapped into aircraft passenger seats.

Only about 150 families live on the islands territory, 850km east of Christchurch, which now claims to have one of the longer runways in the country.

At 1850 metres in length, following a 480m extension, the runway on Chatham Island isn’t much shorter than the one at Wellington Airport, Chatham Islands Airport Ltd chairperson Allan MacGibbon says.

The islands’ residents have Covid to thank for getting the funding to extend the runway.

In 2019, an application to the Provincial Growth Fund was turned down, but then along came the pandemic. In August 2020, the Government announced it would fund the runway extension as part of spending to recover from the Covid shock.

The short length of the runway before the extension had restricted the amount of fuel aircraft could land with at the Chathams. Planes also couldn’t take off with full cargo loads, MacGibbon said.

Aviation rules required aircraft to be within 1 hour of an airport. For turboprop aircraft flying out of the Chathams, that would mean returning to the Chathams during the first part of the trip.”

The runway extension was completed in late 2023 and now means that cargo 737s can land there. If you’re after a 737, I recommend the free Zibo mod and there’s a relevant livery available for it for the Texel.

From the NZ Herald:

The Chatham Islands is now welcoming jet aircraft.

After a 490m extension to its existing runway and strengthening work, the first jet flight touched down this week.

A TEXEL Air Boeing 737 BCF cargo aircraft landed at Inia William Tuuta Memorial Airport, marking a new era for the community of about 730 people.

The $42m Government-funded project was accelerated during the pandemic, aimed at Chatham Islands connectivity, resilience and enhancing economic development opportunities.

Propeller planes have historically been the only air travel option for the Chatham Islands which lie 830km east of Christchurch.

However, after a grant from the New Zealand Government’s Shovel Ready project programme in response to Covid-19, the Chatham Islands Airport Limited (CIAL) were able to progress the “Longer and Stronger” upgrade project.

The runway was extended from the existing 1360m to 1850m and made 45m wider.

The airport extension has been identified as critical and is the flagship Chatham Island’s infrastructure project which stands to facilitate the expansion of the island’s economy and increase the community’s social wellbeing.

‘‘The inaugural mission (on Tuesday) to deliver freight, confirmed the new runway’s capability to support code 4C aircraft and open the door to future flights,’’ said airport chairman Allan MacGibbon.

This is a simple airport really, so I’ve added a large area of construction that looks like it’s still underway to the west of the apron. The new runway extension also features a new taxiway and the old one is removed.