On 9 July 2008,
Television 3 News broadcast a news item stating that
Ngāi Tahu, the owners of the aerodrome (acquired as part of a
Treaty of Waitangi settlement claim), would close Wigram Aerodrome by February 2009. Wigram Airfield officially ceased operation as an airfield at 00:00 Sunday 1 March 2009 NZ Local time. After the Christchurch earthquakes of February 2011 resulted in much of the Central Business District being off limits due to the office buildings being damaged, destroyed, or inaccessible, Ngāi Tahu moved its offices to the Wigram site using a mix of prefabricated relocatable buildings and a refurbished control tower building to house most of its staff until a permanent long-term solution could be found. On 19 February 2025, RNZAF No.40 Squadron successfully landed C-130H Hercules NZ7001 on the remaining field of former Base Wigram. NZ7001 was selected for retirement to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand following the types replacement with newer C-130J Super Hercules. It was the first landing at former Base Wigram in 16 years and likely the last fixed wing flight to operate from former Base Wigram. ==Housing development==