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Auckland Airport says an upgrade could add almost 100,000 new seats for travellers on flights to regional New Zealand.

And the airport says it is building flexibility for possible jet services to regional centres in the future.

The upgrade, expected to finish in 2028, will cost an estimated $147 million.

The sector has been under scrutiny lately for the high prices of domestic flights.

Auckland Airport said the airfield upgrade should provide capacity for more regional travel.

The airport will build four new parking stands for turboprop aircraft, but in future, these stands could accommodate larger jet aircraft.

The airport said that would allow it to cater to future airline fleet upgrades.

Future-proofing against extreme weather events and climate change is also part of the project.

The airport says it will increase stormwater capacity to protect against the possibility of future surface flooding.

“This resilience allows us to manage higher volumes of water that might come from tropical storms, from cyclones that we’re seeing more and more frequently,” airfield programme director Jason Dardis said.

The airport’s chief customer officer Scott Tasker said it had about 280 domestic and regional flights with about 23,500 passengers daily.

An artist's impression of the four new turboprop stands.

Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui said air connectivity was important for regional businesses to secure face-to-face relationships.

And she said better connectivity could help exporters and was crucial for fresh produce to reach global markets.

Hurihanganui said a recent analysis showed Auckland Airport supported $6.8 billion in domestic tourism activity.

The airport said during construction, public parking will still be available near the terminal in the northern section of carpark M.

It said there should also be parking options in carpark K, about five minutes’ walk from the terminal.

The airport said transport lanes and forecourts outside the domestic terminal would not be affected.

The new regional airfield is a separate project from another airfield expansion nearby.

That project involved 250,000sq m of new airfield.

Some regional airlines have described being under intense pressure recently.

“Things are exceptionally tight in the regional aviation space,” Air Chathams chief operating officer Duane Emeny told the Whanganui Chronicle this week.

Air Chathams in April said it was considering withdrawing its Whakatāne to Auckland route after losing more than $1m on it in the previous two years.

And Sounds Air chief executive Andrew Crawford told RNZ his airline had to ditch its Taupō and Westport routes and sell an aircraft.

He cited the costs of fuel, labour and maintenance, landing fees and rising levies from air traffic controller Airways New Zealand and the Civil Aviation Authority.