Auckland Airport's new terminal will bring domestic and international transfers, check-ins and bag drops under one roof.
But it will not be without disruption for up to 20 million travellers a year, until the building is ready in 2029.
The almost $4 billion project will replace the airport's ageing domestic terminal, which originally opened in 1966.
Auckland Airport chief customer officer Scott Tasker. Photo: RNZ / Felix Walton
"This won't be a gold-plated terminal," Auckland Airport chief customer officer Scott Tasker said, but it would focus on the basics.
The new building would bridge the domestic and international terminals, meaning travellers would be able to transfer from domestic to international services without leaving the airport.
International and domestic customers will also be able to check in at the same place with new kiosks and automatic bag drops.
"It will offer better navigation for travellers, more seating areas and places to charge your phone, good bathroom facilities, and more capacity for airlines to add more flights during peak periods," Tasker said.
But he warned of disruption for the next five years while work was under way.
"It of course does mean disruption for the 18 to 20 million travellers that will be departing and arriving from Auckland Airport each year," he said.
"We're working really hard to ensure that we minimise that disruption as well as possible, and we do ask customers to please bear with us. Ultimately the end product will be worth the wait."
The new terminal is expected to open in 2029. Photo: RNZ / Felix Walton
He said Auckland Airport needed a "fit-for-purpose, efficient domestic terminal".
The terminal cost $2.2b, and the associated works including the airfield upgrades are about $1.7b.
"Airport terminals are expensive, but this terminal benchmarks very well with other international examples of a similar size."
Tasker said domestic flight charges would increase from $10.25 per passenger to $15.45 by 2027.
It was similar to what other major New Zealand airports charged, he said.
Storm resilience, baggage system
Knee-high flood waters filled Auckland Airport's domestic terminal during last year's storms, causing serious damage.
"We've made some substantial stormwater upgrades in the north of the precinct," programme director Tim McKenzie said.
"We're very cognizant of the effects of weather, given the impacts on Auckland Airport in early 2023 so there are some major upgrades."
Auckland Airport new terminal project director Isaac Taylor. Photo: RNZ / Felix Walton
But the terminal's best features would be hidden from view, project director Isaac Taylor said.
"All the really cool stuff is behind closed doors, the [new] baggage system is a massive step change in terms of efficiency with passenger baggage and loading onto the aircraft."
The new terminal would use an "individual carrier system", which moved faster and jammed less often than a typical conveyor belt.
A pain point for the current terminal was its low capacity, programme director Tim McKenzie said.
He said it could only service about 15,000 passengers each day, but the new terminal would bring that number up to about 20,000.
"This is an uplift [of] 26 percent passengers, and it also provides important dwell space and processing space of I think about 44 percent."
Construction work on the new terminal will begin later in 2024.
