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Wellington International Airport is on the Rongotai isthmus, 7 Km southeast of central Wellington , New Zealand 's capital city. It is a major domestic hub, and has links to the major cities of Australia . In 2005 it served 4.6 million passengers, and currently over 5 million passengers. The airport occupies 110 hectares {Link without Title} , a small area for the number of passengers it handles. HISTORY The current site opened in on the Kapiti Coast , which was deemed unsuitable for large planes due to adverse terrain. The original length of the runway was 1630 m (5350 ft)Wellington City Airport - Wellington City Council Official Brochure and Programme, 1959., and was extended to its current length of 1936 M in the early 1970s, to handle DC-8s . Wellington Airport's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside a , and Ansett New Zealand built a new terminal as an extension to the international terminal when it commenced competing domestic air services in 1986. Fokker F27 and Boeing 737 at Wellington Airport, 1969 ]] In 1991 , the airport released plans to widen the taxiway to CAA AC139-06a specifications and acquire extra space, which were abandoned after protests from local residents. The plan involved the removal of the nearby Miramar Golf Course and a large number of residential and commercial properties.[http://www.vuw.ac.nz/sog/staff/rob-laking/The%20sale%20of%20Wellington%20Airport%20_version%20of%20May%202006_.pdf] The Airport purchased land from the Miramar Golf Course in 1994 for car park space. As recently as 1992, several alternate sites for Wellington Airport were considered - Te Horo , Paraparaumu , Mana Island , Ohariu Valley , Horokiwi , Wairarapa and Pencarrow , ''Birth of an airport'', Juliet O'Connor, Evening Post, 14 June 1999, p5. but a decision was made to upgrade the existing site at Rongotai. A major new terminal was completed in 1999 and integrated with the international terminal, which had been built as an abortive first stage of a whole new terminal in 1979, and a 90 M safety zone at the south end of the runway has been constructed in order to comply with ICAO safety regulations. A similar zone will be constructed at the runway's north end. {Link without Title} Since 1998 the airport has been two-thirds privately owned by Infratil , with the remaining third owned by the Wellington City Council . In late '', since removed ONGOING ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENT The shortness of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport, and possible overseas destinations are limited to a small number of destinations in Australasia and the Pacific. This has led to a de facto duopoly by Air New Zealand and Qantas on international flights out of Wellington. A full-length runway extension, to accommodate long-haul aircraft such as the into Lyall Bay , and massive Breakwater protection from Cook Strait . Doubts exist over the viability of such an undertaking, particularly as Air New Zealand has shown no interest in providing international service beyond Australia and the Pacific Islands, and no international airlines have shown serious interest in providing services beyond those points. Despite the runway limitations, Qantas operated the 747SP on regular flights between Wellington and Australia during the first half of the 1980s, which were replaced by Boeing 767 s. [http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/publicaffairs/details?ArticleID=2002/mar02/2645 The international terminal - partially built by the now-defunct Ansett New Zealand in 1986 - is being upgraded between 2005 and 2007 , in anticipation of the entry into service of the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 . These aircraft could fly long-haul from Wellington's short runway, opening up the possibility of direct air links to Asia and the Americas if commercially viable. Regional business organisations and the airport have put forward their case to various international airlines for long-haul operations to and from Wellington. [http://wellingtonairport.co.nz/extras/pdf/pres_chamber_commerce_final.pdf There are also plans for expanding retail operations [http://www.archaus.co.nz/projects/project.php?pid=23&PHPSESSID=4e96078ade66ddfe56310854b47c5d30 , as well as building a hotel above the carpark. In particular, a survey commissioned by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce found that respondents regarded the airport's limited international capacity as the biggest obstacle to the Wellington region's economic potential, by a long margin over other factors. [http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425829/602177] B737 landing at Wellington Airport, with construction of the south end runway safety area in the foreground.]] Air New Zealand has repeatedly indicated that it has no interest in pursuing long-haul passenger operations from Wellington. It has questioned potential demand for such flights, citing the axing of its , and creative sectors. It has also been pointed out that while Air New Zealand has been scaling back certain routes, it is adding others, most notably Auckland - Shanghai from 6 November , 2006 , and extending its Auckland-Hong Kong service to London Heathrow . In April 2006, in November 2006. {Link without Title} INCIDENTS In spite of the short runway and frequent winds, there have been very few safety incidents at the airport. In 1991, a United Airlines Boeing 747 made an unscheduled landing after its original destination, Christchurch Airport , was closed by fog. The Dominion, 9 October 1991 , p.3; The Dominion, 24 June 1999 , p3 {Link without Title} Although the plane landed safely, all passengers and freight had to be offloaded before it was able to take off again. The plane was diverted from Auckland to Christchurch, due to fog at Auckland. Whilst passing Wellington, Christchurch was also blanketed by fog. Low on fuel, the flight was diverted to Wellington. AIRLINES AND DESTINATIONS International
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