14 September 2009

Last Hurrah for World War II Hangar

On Tuesday evening, September 15, one of the oldest buildings on the site of Christchurch International Airport will be the location for a gathering of retired aviation engineers.  The occasion is a last hurrah for No. 2 Hangar, which is due to be dismantled to make way for the new terminal development.

150 aircraft engineers are expected to attend, many of whom are now retired.  During the evening, a DC 3 will be parked outside the hangar.  “It’s a way for us to mark the occasion, and have a sort of wake for the hangar and that part of our history,” says CIAL’s General Manager for Operations and Infrastructure Geoff Eban. “A new terminal is being built, we need to expand and update facilities, and this is part of the process.”

No. 2 Hangar, which is located directly to the south of the domestic terminal, was built in 1939, when construction of the airport took place.  During the war it was used for the airforce, and for thirty years afterwards, the National Airways Corporation (NAC) used it for aircraft maintenance. From 1978 it was used by Air New Zealand Cargo, and more recently it’s been used for general storage.

The process of dismantling No 2 Hangar will begin on September 21st.  As the exterior cladding of the hangar contains a small amount of asbestos, the project will be supervised by an experienced removal operator. “The hangar will be dismantled piece by piece, and will be vigilantly managed,” explains Geoff Eban. “We have complete confidence that this process will be successful and entirely safe.”

Once the hangar is dismantled, construction on its site will begin early next year. This area of the new terminal building and adjacent aircraft parking positions will be dedicated to turbo-prop aircraft.