Oamaru Airport – OAM Oamaru
Oamaru Airport (OAM) is a public airport located in Oamaru, New Zealand situated in the North Otago region and Waitaki District. OAM is owned by Waitaki District Council and operated by New Zealand CAA.
In 1960, South Pacific Airlines opened flights from Oamaru to Timaru, Christchurch, Invercargill, and Alexandra. Six years later, Mount Cook Airlines took over after the flights were canceled serving the cities of Christchurch and Timaru. In 1975, OAM-Oamaru had a new runway and became fully operational with flights to Wellington via NAC which was later on changed to Air New Zealand.
Best Time to Visit
Since 1956, Oamaru Airport served as the base for the North Otago Aero Club with charter flights to Christchurch, Queenstown, and Dunedin. Throughout the years, the passenger services were withdrawn a couple of times. Between the years 1991 and 2006, several options were presented on how to reinstate the airport’s services.
The Waitaki District Council eventually came up with a budget of half a million dollars to spend on renovating and upgrading the airport’s runway, terminal, and other facilities to improve the passenger service. OAM mainly serves the city of Oamaru.
What to Do & Area Attractions
Visitors flying to Oamaru Airport will not find any airport hotels located within the airport grounds. However, there are plenty of hotels to choose from that are still accessible from the airport. Colonial Lodge Motel is a casual accommodation located roughly 8 miles from OAM and has good reviews from guests. Another top-rated hotel in Oamaru is Oamaru Harbor Nest which also has the same distance from the airport.
