Our new, contemporary terminal offers some fantastic features, inviting visitors to explore and discover.
Hawke’s Bay Airport is celebrating its official 60th anniversary year, and its much longer history dating back to the 1930s. 2024 marks 60 years of connecting people and places, and more than 90 years of history overall.
We are celebrating our significant birthday throughout the year including special activities, a new kids’ play area, along with the much loved ‘run the runway’ event later in the year.
It's competition time!
Let’s make this year extra special as we celebrate 60 amazing years. A super-sized ‘60’ sign representing the flora and fauna of Hawke’s Bay has been installed in the terminal foyer and we would love you to snap a photo in front of the ‘Big floral 60’, sharing the joy with us. We have some amazing local prizes to give away throughout the year, and we will be drawing a different prize each month from the those who have commented on the Facebook post with their photo.
How to enter
Snap of a photo or selfie with our fabulous floral ’60’ when you visit Hawke’s Bay Airport. You don’t have to be flying – why not pop in, take your photo, and stay for a cuppa at one of our fantastic cafes.
Upload your photo in the comments on the Facebook competition post.
Explore the terminal
As you enter Hawke’s Bay Airport, the terminal design unfolds like a storybook of the land and its people. Inspired by the kuaka bird, the small native bird that nests in the nearby wetlands, its architecture symbolises welcome and connection, from the expansive wings to the beak-like gateway.
Cultural carvings
The terminal’s ceiling design represents the dynamic relationship between Papatuanku and Ranginui and addresses contemporary challenges like global warming and the impacts of COVID-19. This narrative is captured through digital carvings by Jacob Scott, each piece a testament to our connections with nature, and interpreted as an aircraft’s fuselage, celebrating the marvel of flight.
When arriving into Hawke’s Bay, a warm karanga embraces visitors, introducing them to mana whenua and its seven hapū through haka and waiata and tells the story of the significant changes this whenua has endured, including the 1931 earthquake’s transformative impact, symbolised by jagged chevron patterns.
As you make your way to departures, you are guided by mana whenua through the air and the sky and see from a birds-eye view our connection to the rest of the world and the exciting places waiting to welcome us.
Keep a look out for the description plaques around the terminal telling the stories of the carvings.
The propeller
Discover the rich history behind a unique piece of aviation heritage at Hawke’s Bay Airport: a propeller from the De Havilland aircraft, pivotal in the first commercial flights to Gisborne in 1935. Saved from the flames at the end of World War II and lovingly preserved, it now stands as a testament to our past, on permanent display following a generous loan from the Hawke’s Bay Aero Club.
The story goes that the serviceman’s father cycled to the airport, wrapped the propeller in a blanket, and cycled it home as a wartime souvenir. For many years the propeller was stored at the Hawke’s Bay Aero Club before it was offered to Hawke’s Bay Airport on a permanent loan for the terminal redevelopment.
The history of the Airport
Located on the mezzanine floor you will find a timeline telling the story of the remarkable history of the airport. This fascinating exhibit represents just some of the ever-evolving stories of Hawke’s Bay Airport, from 1931 to today. Crafted with the help of local historian Michael Fowler, the timeline recounts the aerodrome’s modest start using a makeshift tram car as a terminal, the aviation icon Jean Batten’s visit, and pioneering flights connecting Hawke’s Bay with Gisborne. It also covers unique moments like the runway’s stint as a drag racing strip in the ’70s and the cost-saving full moon runway resurfacing.
Map of Te Whanganui a Orotū
With the help of Mana Ahuriri, we have a very special historical map on display depicting Te Whanganui a Orotū – the Ahuriri inner harbour, as it was prior to the 1931 earthquake. The quake lifted the seabed by 1.8 metres, transforming Te Whanganui A Orotū from a vast tidal lagoon into the flat land that would eventually host our Airport as it is today. This area was considered a crown jewel to the hapū of Ahuriri. The map invites you to connect with our shared heritage and the transformative journey of this land.