Hawke’s Bay has let the first passengers through its brand-new upgraded airport arrival hall.
“It was exciting to see visitors and locals returning home walk into the arrivals hall for the first time and there has been a lot of hard work put in by the construction project team and sub0contractors and the airport team to meet today’s deadline,” said Stuart Ainslie, chief executive, Hawk’s Bay Airport.
“It’s a big milestone for the airport to get to this stage but there is much more to come as a new look airport becomes a gateway for the region that will be much more culturally connected.”
The expanded arrival hall includes a new baggage reclaim system, vehicle rental kiosks and a pop-up café, but this far from the end of the airport's new developments. This marks the end of the first stage of construction, with the second stage continuing to develop the new check-in area and the third stage building a new hospitality and commercial hub, aiming for completion mid-2020.
“The airport redevelopment is fast taking shape, and we are starting to see a first-class provincial airport that we can all be proud of,” said Bill Dalton, Napier Mayor.
“We are in our busy tourism period with the Art Deco Festival, and Mission Concert and the new arrivals area will be very busy over the next couple of months.
“The arrivals hall is only about 20 percent of the entire project. We are pretty much building a new terminal on the part of the site of the current terminal and increasing the footprint by 74 percent.”
