New Zealand’s capital is also home to its third busiest airport, coming in just behind the international airports at Christchurch and Auckland. Wellington International Airport serves over five million passengers a year to a range of domestic and international destinations.
Just over a dozen airlines operate passenger flights at Wellington International Airport. Many of these routes are domestic, such as to Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown. Most of its international routes go to Australia. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane all fall under the list of Australian cities accessible from Wellington. Destinations further afield include Singapore and Fiji.
The most reliable way to reach the city centre from Wellington International Airport is the Airport Flyer Bus. Buses leave every 20 minutes and serve Wellington’s Hutt Valley suburbs as well as the centre of the New Zealand capital. Service terminates in Lower Hutt.
Originally known as Rongotai Airport, Wellington International Airport had humble beginnings as a single grass runway in 1929. In the 1990s, New Zealand considered moving Wellington’s airport to Paraparaumu, Wairarapa, or another site, but ultimately decided to upgrade the airport at Rongotai. The new terminal was completed just in time for the new millennium.