Wanaka Airport
Wanaka Airport
W?naka Airport (IATA: WKA, ICAO: NZWF) is an airport serving the rural town of W?naka in Otago, New Zealand. The airport has no scheduled commercial flights as of the end of September 2025, as Sounds Air, and Air New Zealand having ceased flights to the airport in 2025 and 2013. It largely serves as a base for scenic and charter flights to destinations such as Milford Sound and Mount Aspiring National Park. The airport is located beside State Highway 6, on a plateau above the small village of Luggate, and is 10 km south-east of W?naka township. It was originally a private airstrip owned by Tim Wallis, but in 1985 it became the main commercial airport for W?naka, replacing Mount Iron Aerodrome. The Warbirds over Wanaka air show has been held biennially at the airport since 1988, regularly attracting crowds of more than 50,000 people. Other attractions, including the National Transport and Toy Museum and the Warbirds & Wheels Museum, are also located at the airport.
Location
44.722°S, 169.246°E · 348 m s. n. m. (1.142 ft)
General data
Runways · 1
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 1
Common traffic (CTAF)
Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.
History
Wānaka was originally served by Mount Iron Aerodrome. By the early 1980s it was clear a new airport would be required to serve the town's growing tourism industry as Mount Iron's runway was too short for commercial aircraft with no possibility of extension. In 1984, the local council decided to create a new airport for the town by expanding a private airstrip to the south-east of the town, which had been owned by Tim Wallis.
On 19 March 2004, Air New Zealand began scheduled services from Wānaka to Christchurch through its subsidiary Eagle Airways, using 19-seat Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. Larger aircraft, such as the Dash8-Q300, were occasionally used during periods of increased demand and airshow weekends. Air New Zealand ended scheduled services to Wānaka on 30 January 2013 after stating the route had never been profitable and showed no signs of improvement. Following the withdrawal of the national carrier, local businesses attempted to run a charter service during the ski season and asked Air New Zealand to consider reinstating services on a seasonal basis using larger aircraft, although neither of these efforts proved successful.
On 2 November 2020, a new regular commercial service operated by SoundsAir launched, once again linking Wānaka Airport with Christchurch Airport.
Photo: CHCBOY · CC BY-SA 4.0 · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Wanaka Airport (WKA). Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/WKA
MLA
“Wanaka Airport (WKA).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/WKA. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Wanaka Airport (WKA).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/WKA.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Wanaka Airport (WKA). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/WKA (Accessed: 19 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_wka,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Wanaka Airport (WKA)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/WKA},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/WKA}},
urldate = {2026-10-19},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-19}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/WKA |title=Wanaka Airport (WKA) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-19 |language=en}}