Te Anau Aerodrome was established in the 1940s, located beside State Highway 95 just south of the lakeside town.

A compacted grass strip of approximately 800m long allowed light aircraft to land.

A large powerstation project in the 1960s at nearby Lake Manapouri saw a new paved strip built 12 km to the south of Te Anau to service the work force.

Te Anau Aerodrome continued to be used as the local airport with flightseeing, aerial topdressing, and helicopter operations based there.

[2] The Te Anau Aerodrome was closed to the public accordingly and the runway 'disabled' with large 'X' crosses and bollards placed on it.