#regional: $50m Airport Upgrade Opens New Gateway for Wharekauri

The Chatham Islands are celebrating a major infrastructure milestone, with the completion of an airport upgrade worth close to $50 million strengthening one of the remote community’s most important connections with mainland Aotearoa.

The new passenger terminal at Inia William Tuuta Memorial Airport has officially opened, marking the completion of the Longer and Stronger project and years of investment in the islands’ aviation infrastructure.

For Wharekauri, the airport is far more than a gateway for tourists.

Reliable air connections are critical for whānau travelling for healthcare and education, businesses moving people and products, and residents maintaining connections with family and services on the mainland.

The Government has invested more than $45 million in the airport project since 2018, including $45 million through the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund and $98,000 from the Provincial Growth Fund.

The opening ceremony reflected the importance of the project to the wider community.

Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust described the terminal as a significant milestone for Wharekauri, with Te One School tamariki providing karakia and waiata as part of the official programme.

The new terminal is also being accompanied by a significant improvement in how passengers can travel between the islands and the rest of New Zealand.

Air Chathams and Air New Zealand have expanded their interline partnership, meaning passengers travelling to and from the Chatham Islands can for the first time book eligible connecting journeys through Air New Zealand as a single ticket.

The change will connect Air Chathams services from the islands through Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch into Air New Zealand’s wider domestic network.

It also means improved baggage handling, coordinated customer support and simpler arrangements when travel is disrupted.

The Government is contributing $465,000 from the Regional Infrastructure Fund towards the expanded interline partnership, alongside support from Air Chathams and Air New Zealand.

And the airport is only one part of a much wider infrastructure push.

The Government has announced another $9.4 million for upgrades to the islands’ wharves and $5.6 million for fuel storage and distribution infrastructure.

That programme will include replacing Kaingaroa Wharf, repairing Owenga and Flower Pot wharves and the Pitt Island barge ramp, improving lighting at Waitangi Wharf and expanding livestock infrastructure.

The fuel investment will include relocating and upgrading storage and distribution facilities at Waitangi Wharf, helping prepare the islands for a new government-backed supply vessel.

For a community separated from mainland New Zealand by hundreds of kilometres of ocean, resilience depends heavily on dependable air and sea connections.

The new terminal therefore represents much more than a modern airport building.

It provides stronger links for whānau, healthcare, tourism and businesses while creating greater opportunities for the future economic development of Wharekauri.

After years of planning, construction and investment, the Chatham Islands now have a new front door to Aotearoa — and a stronger bridge between island whānau and the mainland.

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