Nelson Airport chief executive Rob Evans. Photo: Andrew Board.

Airport busier than ever

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Nelson airport experienced their biggest ever month in January, and their $32 million development is now in full swing.

Passenger numbers reached a record 93,563 in January, followed by 84,733 passengers in February.

The 12 month numbers ending February were 975,391 .

These numbers, combined with increasing passenger capacity, record revenues and earnings before interest, have created the airports best six months performance ever with the full year forecast reflecting the same growth.

Against this backdrop of success, the airport is moving ahead rapidly with the first stages of the terminal redevelopment.

Phase one of the project, which includes the redirection all of the services, such as power and water, from their current location in preparation for the new build, is due to be completed this week.

Work on the new control tower building has also started.

The tender for phase two, the terminal redevelopment itself, is now being evaluated, with work expected to commence in late April. The overall project will last approximately 20 months.

Nelson Airport CEO Rob Evans says minimising disruption to travellers and ensuring a safe environment is of paramount importance throughout the terminal rebuild project.

“There will inevitably be some disruption to our customers, but we are doing everything in our power to minimise that and we are asking all airport users to add an additional 15 minutes to their travel time,” he says.