Palmerston North Airport (IATA: PMR, ICAO: NZPM), originally called Milson Aerodrome, is an airport in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand, serving Palmerston North City and the Central North Island regions. It is located in the suburb of Milson, on the outskirts of Palmerston North, New Zealand, approximately 5.5 km (3.4ml) NE from the central business district of Palmerston North City. The airport is 100% owned by the Palmerston North City Council and covers an area of 208ha. The airport is New Zealand's 8th busiest and handled a total of 515,727 passengers in the 2016 financial year. The airport handles around 30 commercial passenger flights per day to and from Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson as well as cargo flights on week nights between Auckland and Christchurch.
The airport operates two runways, a sealed 1902m runway and a parallel grass 608m runway, which is utilised for general aviation and training activities by Massey University’s School of Aviation, Helipro and Eagle Aviation. Operating 24/7 with no curfews imposed, the airport has become a freight hub for Parcelair.
Common aircraft operating in Palmerston North Airport are ATR72, Bombardier Q300, Boeing 737-400F and Jetstream 31. Diamond DA40 and DA42 training aircraft used by Massey University's School of Aviation are also commonly seen in the airport. In addition to the normal aircraft types, the airport is able to cater for Airbus A320 aircraft. The airport accommodates charters including business jets through to the larger Airbus A320 aircraft. The airport receives some diverted flights from Wellington due to adverse weather conditions there. The airport has an excellent operational preference, opening majority of the time.