Woodbourne was one of the first airports in New Zealand. Today it is one of the few remaining air force bases (RNZAF Base Woodbourne) with general maintenance and initial training conducted there. It serves as the civil airport for Blenheim. Runway 06R/24L was sealed for Fokker Friendships in 1961 and was one of the first regional airports in the country to take turboprop aircraft. Today it has more frequent operations, with Air New Zealand using Bombardier Q300 and ATR 72 aircraft from Auckland and Wellington, Air Chathams also operates from Blenheim to Auckland but only on a seasonal basis using a Saab 340 Airplane. Not only that Originair operates from Blenheim to Palmerston North and Christchurch with a BAE Jetstream 32. The busiest route from Blenheim remains across the Cook Strait to Wellington, 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north-east; flights take only 25 minutes. Sounds Air operates Cessna Caravan aircraft from Wellington and Kapiti Coast. The terminal building was renovated in 2014/15 to cope with growing passenger demand and increased use by larger aircraft types. The redevelopment included an extension of the apron along with new check-in, baggage claim facilities and extension of the departure lounge. The airport was the 12th busiest in New Zealand during 2018, based on passenger numbers.