AUCKLAND AIRPORT: Major re-development – New Domestic & International Terminal and Second Runway?

Auckland Airport has received a battering over the last few months. It was flooded in late January due to torrential rain and then again operations were affected mid-February due to cyclone Gabrielle.

Pre-pandemic Airport plans

Originally planned before the pandemic, Auckland airport redevelopment after nearly 60 years of operation is to include a new Domestic Terminal combined under one roof with the International Terminal. The renewed airport will include sustainable elements to meet climate change goals and is expected to cost around NZ $3.9 billion. It will be the biggest redevelopment project at the airport since its original opening in 1966.

Passenger numbers

With pre-pandemic passenger numbers pushing 9.6 million domestic and international at 11.5 million (including transits) passed through the international terminal, the new terminals will be designed to cater for an additional 20 million passengers, which is the expected traffic growth over the next 20 years.

Combined Terminal Opening Date

The new terminal is set to open between 2028 and 2029, and will service domestic and international jet aircraft. Turbo prop aircraft, servicing a sizeable portion of the domestic market will remain at the current domestic terminal, with further negotiations with airlines to determine their final fate.

The New Airport

The new combined Domestic and International terminal will involve adding to the existing floor space across two levels at the eastern end of the existing international terminal building.

The project will involve significant upgrades to the airfield pavements and underlying utilities for energy efficiency. That includes installing ground power units at each gate to supply power to aircraft which will reduce aircraft fuel usage.

The new Airport will offer modern spaces, efficient passenger processing areas, improved bathroom facilities and faster baggage systems. Combining the terminals will provide better connections between domestic and international for travellers and better access to public transport and the city of Auckland. Here’s a summary of some of the improvements:

• 12 new domestic aircraft gates with electric charging – that’s 20% more than at the current domestic terminal
• Five-minute indoor transfer time between domestic and international
• Additional seating, eating and shopping facilities
• State-of-the-art check-in area
• Smart baggage system to use 50% less power to process each bag
• Fast/easy transport connection, with a $300 million Transport Hub under construction.
• Adjacent space set aside for a future integrated mass transit station

That last point is a kicker and one we so often heard in conjunction with airports. They always leave ‘provision for’ mass transit connections, but rarely build them! The same thing is happening at Sydney’s new Western Sydney International airport where mass transit was promised and now has headed towards the back burner.

2PAXfly Takeout

Interestingly the Airport Media Release does not mention the construction of a second runway (unless I’m missing something), but mere improvements to the ‘airfield pavements’. Simple Flying specifically mentions the new runway, as does the Mott MacDonald website, the global engineering and management agency which was appointed to lead the consortium planning the project. They outlined the following phases:

• Phase 1 of the expansion will include the development of a single integrated terminal and an improved road network.
• Phase 2 a new northern runway will be constructed and the terminal forecourt extended
• Phase 3 the domestic and international piers will be extended
• Phase 4 the northern runway will be lengthened to about 9,800 feet (3,000 meters).

Project concepts and the final build can be two completely different things.

Oh, and just as a closer, this is what Auckland International looked like last year.