Big, bold, and impossible to miss, a new three-dimensional ZQN sign at the entrance to Queenstown Airport is already turning heads. The giant metal letters were installed on the embankment beside Lucas Place as part of a comprehensive wayfinding upgrade.
We hope the sign, set against the magnificent Remarkables, becomes a much-loved landmark that encourages people to stop, connect and perhaps snap a photo as a reminder of their Southern Lakes journey.
Why ZQN?
ZQN is the unique three-letter International Air Transport Association code used to identify Queenstown Airport on airline tickets and luggage around the world. But around here, it's become much more than that. For many people, “ZQN” is simply shorthand for Queenstown Airport and everything it represents: adventure, connection, arrivals, departures, holidays, and homecomings.
It has been used for decades and is thought to be derived from “New Zealand, Queenstown”. It distinguishes our airport from two other airfields using the name Queenstown:
- UEE: an unregistered landing area near the mining town of Queenstown on the west coast of Tasmania
- UTW: an airfield serving the city previously known as Queenstown, and now officially Komani, in South Africa.
Queenstown Airport also has a four-letter International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) code: NZQN. ICAO codes are used by pilots, air traffic control and flight-planning systems.