Transport Hub and plaza

The Transport Hub is central to Auckland Airport’s ambition to improve the traveller experience and create a seamless journey. Built on the site of the old international terminal carpark, the new Transport Hub opened in April 2024 and represents the biggest change to airport transport flows in 50 years.

Each floor of the four-storey structure is the size of two rugby fields with a double-height open ground floor. It delivers a modern airport arrival and departure experience for those using public transport and scheduled buses, being dropped off or picked up by friends and family, or being dropped off by taxis, rideshares and shuttles.

The Transport Hub, which is now serving 8,000 vehicles each day, offers about 2,000 parking spaces on four upper levels using Licence Plate Recognition technology for faster entry and exit.

The building targets a 5 Green Star sustainability rating and aims to meet the threshold for a Gold Parksmart sustainability rating. A 1.2-megawatt solar array covers the rooftop, helping to power the Transport Hub and international terminal. Meanwhile, five 25,000 litre underground rainwater tanks will provide non-potable water to offices when they are ready for tenants.

Land adjacent to the Transport Hub has been set aside for future mass transit should it be required.

A 19,500sqm public plaza area on the doorstep of the international terminal is designed with a uniquely Aotearoa New Zealand welcome in mind. The plaza links pedestrians to the Transport Hub, long-term parking, the Novotel Auckland Airport Hotel and the 5-star Te Arikinui Pullman Auckland Airport Hotel.

With 680m of covered walkways and open spaces, the area is landscaped with 40,000 native plants and is home to 22 Pōhutukawa trees re-located from other areas of the precinct. It’s also the site of a 35-year-old cast bronze statue of celebrated New Zealand aviator Jean Batten. The life-like statue was inspired by the moment Batten arrived in New Zealand after her record-setting, solo flight from England in 1936. Batten’s Percival Gull 6 aircraft, in which she completed the journey, is another popular feature of the airport, suspended from the ceiling between the public departures and arrivals area at the international terminal.

With the opening of the Transport Hub ground floor, the adjacent two-lane Inner Terminal Road was closed for important upgrade work, including stormwater, telecommunications and power lines. There will be some realignment of the road to maximise the space for commercial transport drop off directly outside the terminal, as well as additional public plaza areas that will feature native plant landscaping and volcanic rock features. These works are due for completion in 2027.