Astralis Studios has recently released their rendition of Invercargill Airport (NZNV) for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024. The airport serves Invercargill, New Zealand, and has a yearly average of 270,920 passengers.

It was built in the early 1930s to replace Invercargill’s former main airport, an aerodrome on a farm 10 kilometers away from the city. Due to their location choice, on a former tidal estuary lake, they had to drain all the water and stabilize the land before construction, which took three years. It was not until 1939 that it was finally ready to get traffic.

World War 2 was already in progress during its completion, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force used it as an auxiliary field, still secondary to the aerodrome on a farm, as that one could actually handle heavier patrol bombers. 

The first scheduled service, a Union Airways flight to Dunedin on a Lockheed 10 Electra, occurred only in 1944.

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Twelve years later, the runway underwent a massive upgrade: finally, pavement was installed, and a hefty temporary terminal was built to better handle the passenger traffic. 

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The runway was expanded over the decades that followed to accommodate larger aircraft and thus “keep up with the times.” It peaked at its current 2210 meters.

The first “permanent” terminal facility was built in 1963, with a lozenge-shaped roof, fully glazed airside walls, and two levels. A small jetway was added in 1988 to make things easier for the passengers, but it was removed in 2012.

In the 2010s, a new passenger terminal was built from the ground up. The previous terminal was over 50 years old and severely compromised by seismic issues that occasionally hit the area. The administration figured that demolishing everything and starting over anew would be more logical.

As of late 2025, Air New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch) and Stewart Island Flights (Oban) are the only airlines serving the airport.

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The scenery features an accurate rendition of the airport, with an up-to-date ground layout, over 35 custom objects, enhanced night lighting, PBR textures, custom ground markings, and much more.

It’s available on Contrail for roughly $11.01, requiring at least 2.53 GB of free hard disk space to install.

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