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Mount Cook Airport is a small aerodrome set deep within Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park on New Zealand's South Island, serving as the principal base for scenic ski-plane and helicopter flights over the Tasman Glacier and the Southern Alps. Sitting at 2116 feet amid dramatic mountain terrain, it offers sim pilots a striking approach into one of the country's most scenic valleys.
Mount Cook Airport lies within Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and today functions chiefly as the home base for Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters, operated by INFLITE, which flies scenic ski-plane and helicopter trips over the Tasman Glacier and the surrounding Southern Alps. At an elevation of 2116 feet and ringed by high mountains, it is a visually spectacular but demanding destination for the VFR pilot, with Aoraki/Mount Cook itself, New Zealand's highest peak, dominating the skyline to the north.
The airfield sits within Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, in the Canterbury Region of the South Island, at the southern end of State Highway 80, about 15 kilometres south of Aoraki/Mount Cook. Traffic in the area is worked by Christchurch FIS, and pilots should be aware of nearby Glentanner Airport, which has reportedly caused confusion for visiting pilots because of its proximity (https://www.mtcookskiplanes.com/getting-here/).
The aerodrome has a single physical runway, 13/31, 4808 feet in length with a hard surface. There is no ILS.
Aerodrome traffic is worked on AFIS by Christchurch FIS on 123.5 MHz. A CTAF of 118.6 MHz is used under the callsign ALPS TRAFFIC, and a UNICOM frequency of 131 MHz is also listed. No instrument approach or navaid is associated with the field.
Pilots operating in the vicinity should make traffic calls on the 118.6 MHz CTAF using the callsign ALPS TRAFFIC, given the mix of fixed-wing and helicopter scenic operations based at the field amid mountainous surrounds.
The airfield lies at the end of State Highway 80, on the right-hand side of the road when approached from the north through Mount Cook Village, roughly 15 kilometres south of Aoraki/Mount Cook. The historic site is on Birch Hill Flat, with Aoraki/Mount Cook itself forming an unmistakable landmark to the north and Glentanner Airport lying nearby, which pilots should take care not to confuse with Mount Cook Airport (https://www.mtcookskiplanes.com/getting-here/).
The Mount Cook Tourist Company built a small airfield at Birch Hill Flat, which opened on 3 May 1936. Mount Cook Airline began scheduled passenger flights to the area in 1961, and the field went on to serve as a regional air link for decades. Regular commercial services ceased in 2002, though Air New Zealand subsidiary Mount Cook Airline briefly revived thrice-weekly flights between Mount Cook, Christchurch and Queenstown from 23 December 2012 to 27 January 2013 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Cook_Aerodrome).
The airfield is now home to Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters, operated by INFLITE, offering scenic flights including ski-plane landings on the Tasman Glacier and helicopter glacier-hiking excursions. Check-in for these flights closes 45 minutes before departure (https://www.mtcookskiplanes.com/getting-here/).
