Pikes Point Airport

The facility closed due to technological obsolescence and fleet modernization. Its primary operator, Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), retired its entire fleet of Short Solent flying boats in September 1960. The airline transitioned to modern, land-based turboprop and jet aircraft (like the Lockheed L-188 Electra and Douglas DC-8), which operated from conventional airports. This shift rendered the specialized seaplane engineering base at Pikes Point redundant.

The site has been completely redeveloped and repurposed. It is now the location of the Pikes Point Transfer Station, a major solid waste management and public recycling facility operated by Auckland Council Waste Solutions. The original hangars and most aviation-specific infrastructure have been demolished. However, the general location on the coast and some of the large concrete hardstanding areas are legacies of its former use as a seaplane base.

Pikes Point was not a public airport but a strategically important seaplane base, officially a 'Waterdrome'. Its primary role was as the main engineering and heavy maintenance facility for TEAL (the forerunner to Air New Zealand). From the early 1950s, the base serviced the airline's fleet of Short Solent Mk IV flying boats. These aircraft were famous for operating the iconic 'Coral Route,' a glamorous and vital passenger service connecting Auckland with Pacific island destinations such as Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Tahiti. The Pikes Point base, with its large hangars and ramp to the Manukau Harbour, was essential for keeping this fleet airworthy, representing the zenith and subsequent conclusion of New Zealand's international flying boat era.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the site as an airport or seaplane base. The land is occupied by critical, long-established municipal infrastructure in a heavily developed urban and industrial zone of Auckland. A return to aviation use is considered infeasible from both a logistical and economic standpoint.