Enlarged terminal for domestic passengers

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33957, 25 September 1975, Page 12

Enlarged terminal for domestic passengers

Christchurch Airport now has a considerably enlarged domestic terminal which should serve the city for a further five years before facilities become cramped once more.

The initial cost of the modem terminal complex, completed in 1960, was $850,000. The new extensions which will be opened

by the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr H. G. Hay) on Saturday afternoon "more than doubles the original floor area and at 53.7 m has cost four times the price of the original building The 200 ft long pier is completely sound-proofed, air conditioned and carpeted, making it the quietest area of the entire terminal building. The whole domestic extension programme had been designed with the passenger’s comfort and well-being in mind, said ? the airport general man- I ager (Mr A. I. R. Jamie- ) son). FULLY CARPETED ’ Improved and extra automatic doors have been « provided. The baggage • claim area has been enlarged. Closed circuit television has been extended throughout the building, j and Christchurch now has > the country’s first fully- 1 carpeted terminal building An automatic flight indicator board is to be positioned in the main concourse and beneath it will be located the airport information office. It is the airport authority’s intention to install a number of white telephones at strategic points throughout the terminal on which people can receive urgent telephone calls. Car-hire firms have been positioned in the centre of the main foyer leading to the pier extension, so that departures move down one

side of the area and arrivals down the other side. In addition, only passengers will be permitted to enter the downstairs lounge in the pier. Friends out to see passengers off will have to watch their departure from the observation lounge upstairs as now from the ground floor there is practically nowhere from which to observe aircraft on the tarmac.

Decor in the extended domestic wing is dominated by a blue and purple carpet covering 3000 sq. metres. The $52,000 contract to supply it was won by Feltex Carpets New Zealand Limited. The international wing of the terminal has also gained from the alterations to the domestic wing. NEW BAR Check-in counters have been extended and office areas enlarged. There is a new air-conditioned cocktail bar facing the airfield side of the terminal with a lift to take passengers from the first to the second floor. It is more than twice as large as the former chart room bar. New carpeting will eventually flow through the international section to blend in with, the domestic wing. In fact only the toilets and the cafeteria are not carpeted. Planned alterations to the cafeteria will not be completed in time for Saturday’s official opening but are expected to be ready early next year.

In addition, new wall-i paper will be going up m the overseas wing. The exterior of the air-i port terminal has also been' given a new look. The 1 tower block has been re-i furbished while the ex-| terior has been steamcleamed so that the older; part of the building will be; completely compatible with the new extensions. The next stage in domestic development at the airport has been set down for the 1980 s, when a sort of octagonal “pan handle” will be appended on to the end of the pier. This will permit simultane- . docking of several aircraft at the same time. When this sort of operation comes into being all passengers will be “processed” on the top floor of the pier and the offices now used by National Airways, Mount Cook Airlines; and the weather office will be moved down to the first floor. An escalator block has already been positioned in the existing pier in readiness for this future development. . j