Okiwi Airfield
Okiwi Airfield (ICAO: NZOX), also called Okiwi Station Airfield, is a small airfield located near the village of Okiwi on Great Barrier Island. It has a single bitumen runway, and a small terminal in the form of a wooden hut. The airfield is owned by Auckland Council and is used for both general aviation and on-demand commercial flights operated by Fly My Sky.[3]
Okiwi Airfield | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Auckland Council | ||||||||||
| Location | Great Barrier Island | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 10 ft / 3 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 36°08′47″S 175°25′08″E[1] | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  NZOX Location of Okiwi Airfield | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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History
Okiwi Airfield originally consisted of a grass airstrip that was prone to flooding during bad weather and regularly had to be closed through the winter for periods up to 8 months.[4]
The Auckland Aero Club was the first operator to the airfield, services commencing at least by 1971. Great Barrier Airlines (now Barrier Air) began services to Okiwi in August 1984 after the Auckland Aero Club ceased Great Barrier Island operations, citing difficulties in turning profit.[5]
In November 2013, work commenced on sealing the runway in order to alleviate these issues and attract more commercial operators to the airfield. The new runway took 6 months and $1.5 million to build and opened on 2 May 2014.[6]
Barrier Air, which had earlier rebranded from Great Barrier Airlines, ceased services to Okiwi in 2016.[7]
Fly My Sky is currently the only operator to the airfield, operating on demand.[3] During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the airline was operating daily flights as an essential service.[4]
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Fly My Sky | Auckland Airport, Claris |
References
- "Site Information for NZOX in Okiwi Station Airport, AUK, New Zealand". 36.1464;175.419006: Weather.gladstonefamily.net. Retrieved 6 May 2015.CS1 maint: location (link)
- (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20110919130914/http://www.aip.net.nz/pdf/NZOX.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2014. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - "Timetable - Fly My Sky - Great Barrier Island Flights Timetable". Fly My Sky. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- Transport, Auckland. "Okiwi Airfield: Supporting Great Barrier Island under Alert Level 4". Auckland Transport. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- L, Steve (17 May 2015). "3rd Level New Zealand: The Barrier Connection - Great Barrier Airlines". 3rd Level New Zealand. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- "Okiwi Airfield reopens". Archived from the original on 22 September 2014.
- L, Steve (16 August 2015). "3rd Level New Zealand: Barrier Air - The new name to the Barrier and Kaitaia". 3rd Level New Zealand. Retrieved 31 May 2020.