22/05/2018

Travellers through Timaru’s Richard Pearse Airport are being welcomed by a fresh new look following the completion of a $1 million terminal upgrade.

Timaru Mayor Damon Odey recently welcomed Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon to the new Terminal, which was upgraded to better support the larger planes now servicing the daily Timaru to Wellington route.

“With the move from a 19 seater plane service to having to support up to 50 passengers at once it was becoming obvious that our tired old terminal needed an upgrade,” said Damon.

“For an increasing number of business and leisure travellers it is also the first impression they get when they visit our district, and it wasn’t a good one.

“So we’ve worked hard to provide cleaner, more modern and comfortable surroundings with more options to plug in your laptop and get some work done with a coffee or just sit and admire the amazing alpine view.“

Air New Zealand Regional Affairs Manager Ian Collier says the airline has worked closely with the airport on the terminal upgrade.

“Timaru is an important port on our regional domestic network. Our Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon had a look through the new terminal on his recent visit and we are both very impressed with the result.

“With support from the Timaru community and by utilising the larger 50-seat Q300 aircraft between Timaru and Wellington we now operate 66% more seats on this route than we did two years ago.”

The upgrades to the terminal include a new and larger baggage collection area, upgraded check in desks, new seating, lighting and heating, more sockets and charging stations and free wifi.

As an additional part of the project, the toilets are now also being upgraded, which should be complete within the next few weeks.

With the upgrade of the terminal, there had also been a significant upgrade to the car park, it is now fully sealed and is better for both travellers with clearly marked pathways, but also better for the environment with full stormwater treatment in place.

With the completion of the project, a daily parking charge of $5 will be introduced for those parked for more than three hours from July.

“We considered the introduction of the parking charges carefully, we’ve set them at a level which enabled us to help fund the significant upgrade to the facilities, while still being affordable for travellers. In fact, where charges are made, it’s still the cheapest on-airport rate in the country,” said Damon.

Parking charges at the airport will start from July.

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