Auckland Airport cut the ribbon on a five-year project to upgrade and expand its 387,500-square-foot international terminal departure area. The multimillion dollar refurbishment project includes a two-story Vantage Bar by Emirates Leisure Retail, a subsidiary of Emirates Group.

“As the name suggests, Vantage Bar has it all. A series of large-scale screens for the sports enthusiast, epic views of the runway, and a dynamic two-level design located in the most prominent location in the International Terminal,” said Justin Scotti, managing director, Emirates Leisure Retail, ANZ.

The new area includes upgraded bathrooms, a “recompose area” post-security for “customers to repack and get organized,” new charging ports and two hours of free WiFi for visitors.

Travelers have access to 14 new food and beverage options, with menus serving Vietnamese, Italian and Chinese food. New Zealand food brands like Al Brown – Best Ugly Bagel, Mexico Food and Liquor, and Better Burger are also present.

The new terminal boasts 32 retail concepts, like Auckland clothing brand Icebreaker, Manuka honey, Whittaker’s Chocolate and an All Blacks Adidas outlet. Luxury international brands include Kate Spade, Weekend Max Mara and Michael Kors — the first of these stores in New Zealand.

“We expect the opening of Vantage Bar and the impact of the finished space to greatly add to our guests’ journeys. It will build on the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve had to date, with our customer satisfaction rating for the International Terminal reaching its highest point in 12 years,” said Richard Barker, general manager of retail and commercial, Auckland Airport.