Crestview International Airport

Crestview International Airport is the main airport of Mirani located in Crestview, Mirani. It is the largest airport in the city as well as the country. It serves metropolitan and regional areas of Mirani and serves as a hub for Mirani Air and New Holland Airways Mirani. It also serves as an air base for the Miranian Coast Guard (with one helipad only used by the coast guard), though it is not listed as a military airfield. As well as serving metropolitan and regional Mirani, the airport is also extensively used by Fijians and New Caledonians as it offers a more direct flight to popular locations around the world.

History
Crestview International started out as a small grassy airstrip used mainly by the arym up until 1946, then Mirani Air was formed and began to operate 2 years later. The runway was extended, paved and just made 1,500m long. A small terminal building was constructed, which was little more than a small cafe and waiting area at first. It was later extended again to accomidate larger planes in the mid 1950's.

Another runway was built in 1959 to accommodate even larger planes, and greeter demand for air travel. The first runway was then expanded to it's current length of 3,000m to allow for even larger planes. This presented great challenges with the hilly terrain that surrounded the area, large excavations took place to flatten the terrain and make it safer for planes to land. Another runway was built in 2001 and the 2nd runway was extended to 2,136m.

Terminals
The airport has 2 terminals one, large passenger terminal with a specialised business terminal connected and another small terminal used by water planes in the waters nearby.

Main Terminal
The Terminal contains 32 gates on 5 concourse. The terminal is the largest and busiest and is the only terminal used by the commercial flights in and out of Crestview. The terminal has had various upgrades throughout the 20th and 21st century with the latest one being in 2001.

Aeroquay 1 (Gates 1-15) is used for long-haul international flights exceeding 10 hours of non-stop flight times.

Aeroquay 2 (Gates 16-22) is used for long-haul international flights with multiple stops to the main destination. (This also includes swapping flights at the stops)

Aeroquay 3 (Gates 22-26) is used for short to medium range flights operated by airlines from around the Oceania region.

Aeroquay 4 (Gates 27-31) is used only for domestic flights within Mirani.

Aeroquay 5 (Gates 32-33) is used only for tourist planes, sightseeing and other activities.

Aeroquay 6 (Gate 34) is used only by water planes and the Miranian Coast Guard

Business Terminal
The Business Express Terminal used by business jets to board VIPs. It is used when politicians visit from other countries ensuring their safety upon arrival.

Water Plane Terminal
The water plane terminal, which is not connected to the main terminal is located on the coast 200m away from the actual airport. It is used mainly by tourist planes and by the Miranian Coast Guard. Even though it is not connected to the airport, it is still considered to be part of it.

Runways
Crestview has 3 runways. They are (In descending length) 3,000 metres (9,842 ft), 2,543 metres (8,343 ft) and 2,136 metres (7,007 ft) long. All 3 are 45 metres (148 ft) wide. The runways are built of high strength, flexible asphaltic concrete surface and is used for unrestricted operations up to and including Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 aircraft. All runways are equipped with high intensity lighting, high intensity approach lights and instrument landing systems (ILS) at both ends. The airport is currently seeking a larger plot of land to build an entirely new airport somewhere on the Big Island, when construction has finished the current airport will be dismantled and turned into a national park.

The Water Planes have an area designated for them to land, some 20m off the coast.

Freight
Some freight is passed through the airport, but with Crestview's Port so close there is no need. All freight that does go into the airport are processed by Mirani Air.

General aviation
A large number of private aircraft use the airport, predominately small, propeller driven planes. A number of executive jets also use the airport due to its proximity to the city. Flight training is also available at the airport.

Hotel
There is a large 300 room hotel with restaurants/cafes and numerous conference/meeting places in the lower levels. The hotel employs 100 people. The hotel is used mainly by international transfer passengers who have a connecting flight a day or more after their arrival in Crestview.

Airlines and destinations
See Crestview International Destinations

Ground transport
Crestview International has a large car park that offers short, medium to long term parking. There is also a taxi and limousine service operating at the airport. There are two car rental operators at the airport, these include Budget and Thrifty. The airport has its own railway station operated by the Crestview Metro and also a direct link to freeways. Buses run directly to the to main terminal from serval locations throughout Crestview. On everage, it takes less than half an hour to get to the airport from any location on Capital Island.