Christchurch International Airport

Compiled by Bill Gao

Christchurch, Canterbury Region (New Zealand)

IATA: CHC ICAO: NZCH

Longest Active Runway

10,787 ft

3,288 meters

Field Elevation

123 ft

37 m MSL

Runway Inventory

3 active

Lighted / Paved

Coordinates & Class

-43.4890°, 172.5321°

LARGE AIRPORT

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Multi-Universe Rankings & Statistical Standing

How ranks work →

RunwayFacts Published Dataset

#419 of 650

In curated primary commercial index

Global Commercial Universe

#667 of 7558

Top 8.8% percentile worldwide

National Standing (New Zealand)

#2 of 2 in NZ

#2 of 52 in full national registry

vs Large Airport Median

+7.9%

Compared to 10,000 ft baseline

💡 CHC in numbers: 10,787 ft longest runway · #419 of 650 published · #667 of 7,558 worldwide (top 8.8%) · #2 in New Zealand.

🔬 Operational & Aerodrome Engineering Comparative Analysis

Longest runway ≥10,500 ft

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Elevation & National Context

Lowland Aerodrome (<2,000 ft)

CHC lies at 37 m (123 ft), #419 of 650 published airports by elevation and 30.5 percentile among 7,558 worldwide. It is 50 ft above the New Zealand median (73 ft, 2 airports) and the highest published airport in the country.

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Regional Density & Alternates (100 NM)

0 Qualifying Aerodromes in Vicinity

No published neighbour with a paved runway of 5,000 ft or more within 100 NM of CHC. Nearest published airport: Auckland International Airport (AKL), 402 NM, 11,926 ft (1,139 ft longer than CHC); none other within 250 NM.

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Runway Inventory & National Standing

Primary Runway: 10,787 ft (3,288 m)

CHC runways: 02/20 10,787 × 148 ft asphalt (asp); 11/29 5,587 × 148 ft bituminous asphalt (bit); 01/19 1,690 × 229 ft grass / turf (grs). National standing: #2 of 2 in New Zealand; AKL leads by 1,139 ft (11,926 ft). +7.9% vs the 10,000 ft baseline.

🛫 Physical Runway Inventory & Surface Engineering

Runway Designator	Length (ft / m)	Width (ft / m)	Surface Material	Lighting	Status
02/20	10,787 ft (3288 m / 3.288 km)	148 ft (45m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
11/29	5,587 ft (1703 m / 1.703 km)	148 ft (45m)	`Bituminous Asphalt (BIT)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
01/19	1,690 ft (515 m / 0.515 km)	229 ft (70m)	`Grass / Turf (GRS)`	❌ Unlighted	✅ Active

🛡️ Source: OurAirports Open Aviation Database, snapshot 2026-09-01 · Provenance →