Huge Gandalf statue to be removed from airport after 12 years of delighting tourists

For over a decade, travellers at Wellington Airport have been greeted by a fantastical sight: two colossal eagles, straight out of the Lord Of The Rings, suspended from the terminal ceiling.

One even carries the iconic wizard Gandalf, adding to the magical atmosphere.

These impressive sculptures, with wingspans reaching 50 feet and weighing in at over a ton each, have become a beloved fixture since their installation in 2013. While they've delighted countless tourists, they've also been known to startle a few children with their imposing presence.

Their tenure was eventful — one became unmoored from its fixings during a severe earthquake in 2016, and plummeted onto the terminal floor below. No one was hurt.

But this month the majestic creatures, which underscore the capital city’s connection to Peter Jackson ’s “Lord of the Rings” and Hobbit films, will depart the terminal for good, Wellington Airport announced Monday.

“It’s been quite a Lord of the Rings-heavy storytelling theme in here,” said airport chief executive Matt Clarke. “Now we’re looking to change that to something new.”

“It breaks my heart,” said one traveler, Verity Johnson, who sat beneath a grasping eagle claw in the food court on Monday. The sculptures had impressed her since she was young. “Please, please reconsider.”

“Taking them away is un-New Zealand,” joked another airport visitor, Michael Parks.

Wellington Airport isn’t losing its quirky side. An enormous sculpture of The Hobbit’s gold-hoarding dragon, Smaug, will remain overlooking the check-in counters.

The eagles were crafted by the film props and effects company Wētā Workshop, which created tens of thousands of props for the Oscar-winning fantasy films directed by Jackson -- one of Wellington’s best-known residents, who lives on an isthmus near the airport. The movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien ’s beloved novels generated billions of dollars in tourism revenue for New Zealand and employed thousands of people in Wellington over the 15 years of the movies’ production.

But during the years the eagles have hovered in the terminal, Tolkien tourism has waned in Wellington — although the city will perhaps always be synonymous with Jackson’s films. Guided tours still convey fans to the settings of famous scenes from the films and to visit production companies such as Wētā, which will create a new display for the airport, to be unveiled later this year, Clarke said.

Travelers have until Friday to admire the birds, which will then be put into storage, Clarke said. He hopes the creatures – which each feature 1,000 3D printed feathers – will find a home at a museum.

“It’s a spectacular thing for little kids to see,” Clarke said. “Even your old, grizzled businessmen, they still pull out their phones and take a quick cheeky photo too.”