Government backs $10m Hamilton Airport runway extension

Wednesday, 25 March 2026

Hamilton Airport chief executive Mark Morgan said negotiations with the government for a runway extension had been in progress since July 2024.

A $9.8 million project to increase the length of Hamilton Airport’s runway has been granted a $6.5 million government-backed loan, “boosting resilience for Waikato and the national aviation network”, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says.

Hamilton Airport chief executive Mark Morgan said the funding announcement was more than welcome after the airport initiated resilience discussions with the government more than 10 years ago, but without success.

“It is great news for New Zealand’s entire aviation network,” he said.

An almost $10 million extension of Hamilton Airport’s runway will get underway near the end of the year.

Morgan said the project would extend the runway and apron space by 255m to a total length of 2450m, “so a wider range of aircraft, including wide-body jets such as B787s or A330s can land and depart from Hamilton”.

“It means during adverse events or emergencies, Hamilton could play a key role in reducing disruption and keeping people and goods moving,” Morgan said.

Jones said the airport’s location and proximity to major highways and link roads also makes it a key hub for moving people and freight domestically and internationally.

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones said the $6.5 million loan would boost ‘resilience for Waikato and the national aviation network’.

The Waikato region is home to several of New Zealand’s largest manufacturers and value-added primary sector exporters that depend on resilient freight infrastructure.

“In the event of disruptions at other North Island airports, Hamilton Airport is also an option to keep people and goods moving.

“Such incidents do occur from time to time.

“Last April, an international flight had to be diverted in the middle of the night from Auckland to Hamilton due to a major thunderstorm,” Jones said.

The work also includes extensions to the runway’s turning bay, and upgrades to its approach and runway lights, and would allow for further extensions of the runway in the future.

Construction work is expected to create up to 39 jobs, is scheduled to begin towards the end of this year, and should take around 12 months to complete.

Waikato Regional Airport Ltd, a council-controlled organisation owned by five local councils (Hamilton, Ōtorohanga, Waipā, Waikato and Matamata-Piako), will receive the loan allowing Hamilton Airport to contribute $3.3m to the project.

Morgan said there will be no impact on flight operations, including international passengers already landing daily in Hamilton from Sydney and the Gold Coast.

He said his staff had been working with Kānoa - the government’s regional economic development and investment unit - on a formal resilience proposal since July 2024.

“Over the last 18 months, minsters representing the coalition government have been very receptive to discussions around a more resilient national aviation network and the role Hamilton could play.

“We think it’s a smart move and a very sensible investment with national benefit.”

In its six-month report from July 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025, Hamilton Airport reported its passenger numbers were up 39% compared to the same period in 2024, an increase of 71,000 travellers.

According to the report, around 55,000 flyers were taking to the skies for international routes between Hamilton, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

Currently, more than half a million passengers use the airport on an annual basis.