Major upgrade at Auckland Airport

Major upgrade of international departure area underway at Auckland Airport

Auckland Airport has today announced the details of a major upgrade to its international departure area, including a new security processing zone and a new passenger lounge and shopping hub.

Adrian Littlewood, Auckland Airport’s chief executive, says, “Today’s announcement is an exciting and major step forward in the ongoing implementation of our 30-year vision to build our ‘airport of the future’, which will eventually see us able to accommodate 40 million passengers a year by 2040, from 16 million today. This expansion project is the next step in the development of our combined domestic and international terminal, which will provide a great customer experience and ensure the airport can both accommodate the changing nature of international travel and our strong growth in passenger numbers.”

The new international departure project almost doubles the size of the current primary international departure processing zone, passenger lounge and retail hub and comprises three distinct spaces:

- a reconfigured landside farewell area

- a new and expanded security screening and processing area; and

- a new passenger lounge and retail hub.

“The design of the new international departure area will be influenced by a journey from New Zealand’s sea to sky and focuses on New Zealand’s natural beauty and our cultural heritage.”

“The area has been designed by American architects, Gensler, in partnership with New Zealand architects, Jasmax. Together they bring both international experience and local knowledge to the project.”

“One of our clear requirements was that the design be intuitive and user friendly to ensure a great passenger experience. As a result, there will be a range of different seating zones, a kids play zone, lots of natural light and views of the airfield.”

“Surrounding the passenger lounge area will be a fantastic retail hub, selling the best products from New Zealand and the world. To ensure we have sufficient space to introduce new brands and products, the terminal’s first floor retail and food and beverage leased area post security will grow by around 65%.”

“This is a complex construction project. The upgrade is sited in the core of the original 1977 international terminal building and has presented many planning and design challenges to overcome. Further, we have also concentrated on ensuring the development plan is flexible enough to align with our longer-term requirements for the combined domestic and international terminal. Finally, construction staging and phasing has also been carefully planned to account for the fact that airport operations will obviously continue throughout the project’s life”.

“Construction of the new international departure area began in late 2015 and will continue until early 2018 over three distinct stages. This will ensure passengers can benefit from the changes as soon as they are finished, while at the same time minimising the impact of construction on travellers.”

The construction work is being undertaken by Fletcher Construction Company and a range of specialist sub-contractors. The three construction stages are:

• December 2016 – reconfigured landside farewell area, new expanded security screening and processing area, and first half of the two anchor duty free shops

• May 2017 – remaining half of the two anchor duty free shops, and first half of the new passenger lounge and retail hub

• By early 2018 – remaining half of the new passenger lounge and retail hub.

The estimated final cost of the new international departure project is between $160 million and $180 million.

“This project is one of a series of significant infrastructure and facility upgrades underway at Auckland Airport to ensure we are keeping pace with growth and delivering on our 30-year vision. In the last 12 months, we have seen international passenger growth of 6.9% and six new airlines announcing international services to Auckland, including Philippine Airlines, Air Asia X, Air China, China Eastern, United Airlines and American Airlines.”

“Last year, Auckland Airport completed a 2,500 square metre expansion of its international baggage hall, including the addition of two extra baggage belts, and also built a new bus gate lounge on Pier B and an extra 17,500 square metres of airfield to park the increasing numbers of aircraft visiting Auckland.”

“In addition to upgrading our international departure area this year, in February, we will complete a new domestic departure lounge for use by Jetstar’s regional passengers, and at the end of the year we will open the first of several new gates on Pier B of the international terminal which can accommodate the latest generation A380 and B787 aircraft. Work is also underway on designing the domestic end of our new combined domestic and international terminal building.”

“This major upgrade of our international departure area is an exciting project. It will deliver an improved experience for travellers leaving New Zealand and it is an important step in the implementation of our 30-year vision for Auckland Airport,” says Mr Littlewood.

Ends

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