Wellington, Hamilton And North Shore Are The New Zealand Airports Of The Year

New Zealand’s annual airports and aviation sector conference has wrapped this week, with Wellington, Hamilton and North Shore Airports taking the top sector awards.

The NZ Airports Hui 2024 was held at Claudelands in Hamilton from 11-14 November, bringing together a record number of delegates, exhibitors and speakers from New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the Pacific.

This year’s Hui attracted three major international speakers:

• Captain Billy Nolen, Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer for Archer Aviation and former head of the Federal Aviation Administration
• Stephen Forshaw, Airbus Chief Representative for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
• Dr Navneet Garg, Programme Manager of the National Airport Pavement and Materials Research Center at the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Aviation shrinks the world. For New Zealand, air connectivity is critical to our economic and social prosperity,” NZ Airports Chief Executive Billie Moore says.

“Our discussions this week have highlighted the challenges New Zealand is facing to maintain and grow our connectivity. In particular, aircraft constraints are contributing to domestic route withdrawals and a drop in consumer confidence to travel. We are also lagging behind other countries in our international tourism recovery.

“At the same time, the future shows extraordinary promise – and it is coming at us fast. Captain Billy Nolen took us through the imminent launch of Archer’s commercial air taxi operations in the US, planned for 2025, and the variety of use cases for eVTOLs that could be facilitated by airports. And BETA Technology, Air New Zealand and Wellington and Marlborough Airports shared their latest insights from the Mission Next Gen electric aircraft project.

“The future will bring us smaller, zero-emissions aircraft well suited to New Zealand’s domestic needs. If we can work through our current constraints and embrace this new technology, we can deliver transformative benefits to New Zealand’s economy and social connectivity. That means making a plan now to foster the right infrastructure and regulatory investment.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do. Our speakers pointed out there’s no mention of aviation in the discussion document for the National Infrastructure Plan. That’s alarming when this sector is so critical to our country, and when technology is moving so fast.”

The NZ Airports Awards were presented on Wednesday night at a Hobbiton-themed gala dinner with the generous support of Beca and Hobbiton Movie Set. Awards were presented for the year’s best infrastructure, community engagement, commercial and sustainability projects, as well as Emerging Leader of the Year and Airports of the Year.

“Our three airports of the year in our large, medium and small airport categories are fantastic examples of airports as community-focused regional infrastructure.

“North Shore Airport is setting the standard for community engagement, and its work on the Auckland International Pilot Academy shows its commitment to fostering the next generation of pilots.

“Hamilton Airport’s return to international services is just one project that shows its team’s dedication to delivering for the Waikato region. Its comprehensive sustainability strategy, and work on commercial expansion through Titanium Park, also stood out to the judges this year.

“Wellington Airport is a leader in innovation, always ready to be a first mover on projects that will improve the customer experience, such as its investment in LiDAR technology to reduce queuing times. As a host airport for Air New Zealand’s BETA ALIA electric aircraft alongside Marlborough Airport, it will continue to show future-focused leadership for the airport network.”

Julie Southall, Commercial and Projects Manager at Rotorua Airport, was named Emerging Leader of the Year.

“Congratulations to all the nominees and award winners, and to all the Hui contributors for making the event so special once again this year.”

The NZ Airports 2024 Award winners were:

• Large Airport Infrastructure – Auckland International Airport Transport Hub
• Medium Airport Infrastructure – Hawke’s Bay Airport: Apron Reseal
• Small Airport Infrastructure – Whanganui Airport & Fulton Hogan: Runway Resurfacing
• Large Airport Commercial and Non-Aeronautical – Christchurch International Airport for the Dakota Park freight and logistics precinct
• Medium Airport Commercial and Non-Aeronautical – Invercargill Airport for the management of Milford Airport
• Small Airport Commercial and Non-Aeronautical – North Shore Airport for the Auckland International Pilot Academy and Auckland Pilot Training
• Large Airport Environmental Sustainability – Wellington International Airport and Marlborough Airport for hosting New Zealand’s first all-electric aircraft trial
• Medium Airport Environmental Sustainability – Hamilton Airport: solar farm and sustainability strategies
• Special Recognition for Sector Leadership in Sustainability – Air New Zealand for the Mission Next Gen programme
• Large Airport Community Engagement – Wellington International Airport for the Community Regional Awards
• Medium Airport Community Engagement – Rotorua Airport for the Matariki Dinner
• Small Airport Community Engagement – North Shore Airport: Airport Open Day
• Large Airport of the Year – Wellington International Airport
• Medium Airport of the Year – Hamilton Airport
• Small Airport of the Year – North Shore Airport
• Emerging Leader of the Year – Julie Southall, Commercial and Projects Manager at Rotorua Airport

Note

There are three categories of airport membership within the New Zealand Airports Association (NZ Airports) and the annual awards are considered within each category:

• Large Airports – recording more than 2 million passengers per year
• Medium Airports – between 200,000 and 2 million passengers
• Small airports – less than 200,000 passengers, including airports without regular scheduled passenger operations.

The judges of the 2024 awards were:

• Laurissa Cooney, Co-Chair of the Aotearoa Circle and Director for Air New Zealand and Goodman
• Michelle McCormick, Policy Director at Infrastructure NZ
• Sybilla Grady, Senior Policy Manager at the Australian Airports Association
• Garry Goodman, aviation consultant and former airport chief executive

Small Airport of the Year – North Shore Airport

The judges commented: “North Shore Airport is dedicated to its local community; committed to driving better and more innovative commercial outcomes; it fosters young talent and sets a fantastic example for connecting people with the benefits of aviation.”

Medium Airport of the Year - Hamilton Airport

The judges commented: “This airport is grounded in its core values, and from that base, is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for a regional airport. It has a deep belief in what it needs to deliver for its growing region, and is increasingly achieving standards in infrastructure, commercial expansion and sustainability that would previously be seen as the realm of larger airports.”

Large Airport of the Year – Wellington International Airport

The judges commented: “This airport has entrenched itself as a network champion for innovation and agility. Totally customer and solution-focused, this airport has demonstrated leadership across community engagement, network and commercial partnerships, infrastructure planning and sustainability.”

Emerging Leader of the Year - Julie Southall, Commercial and Projects Manager, Rotorua Airport

Rotorua Airport is the first company Julie has worked for in the aviation industry, previously working in marketing and product development roles with Comvita, Craigs Investment Partners and GM Holden. As the Commercial & Projects Manager Julie’s role covers a wide range of areas within the business including strategy, commercial relationships, sustainability and board reporting as well as project investigation and delivery. In addition to this Julie regularly steps up to the plate to attend meetings or represent the airport on behalf of the CEO. Julie is a driving force in a number of projects at Rotorua Airport across all aspects of the business, from infrastructure and finance to events and public engagement. She takes on all projects with superb attention to detail, determination, passion and skill.

The judges recognised the huge variety in Julie’s work, giving her insight into almost every part of the airport’s business. They commented: “Julie has all the qualities of a future airport CEO. She has exceptional leadership, commercial and relationship building skills which make her an asset to the airport network.”

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