The idea of the new branding is to form a closer connection to the city the airport serves, and make what is many people's first contact distinctively Dunedin.
That includes picking up on the Dunedin City Council's gothic Dunedin lettering, designing new black uniforms for staff - worn for the first time yesterday - and providing both the sights and sounds of the city as passengers exit planes and enter the airport through its air bridge.
From yesterday, the airport's name changed to Dunedin Airport, rather than Dunedin International Airport.
Airport marketing and communications manager Megan Crawford said focus groups were used to get a sense of what customers thought of the facility.
''One of the big things was a sense of pride in the connection these customers had with Dunedin Airport,'' Ms Crawford said.
The airport then began to look at the council's Brand Dunedin, first launched in 2010.
Brand Dunedin had gothic lettering that has become common around the city, did away with a city slogan, and relied on ''brand partners'', like the University of Otago, Allied Press, Dunedin Venues Management Ltd, and the Otago Chamber of Commerce to share its look.
Ms Crawford said the airport did not want to ''reinvent the wheel'' - if there was a sense of pride customers had for the airport, there would be a similar sense of pride in Dunedin itself.
''We needed to have a far better connection with the city.''
The airport redesigned its air bridge with a panorama of Tunnel Beach, and the sound of waves and seagulls to welcome passengers.
''What we want our customers to feel is as soon as they arrive at Dunedin Airport, they are arriving in Dunedin city.''
The ''international'' part of the name was dropped, as it appeared to have done little to help customers understand what transtasman flights were on offer - at the moment a four-day a week service to Brisbane.
Chief executive Richard Roberts said he was not aware of any airport that had taken on the brand of the city it served''Nobody goes to an airport.
''You go through an airport to get where you want to go.''
Mr Roberts would not reveal the cost of the rebrand, but said it was paid for through Dunedin International Airport Ltd budgets.
Staff also sported new scarves yesterday, designed by Dunedin designer Colleen Pugh, with a guitar to represent Dunedin music, a Rob Roy Dairy ice cream, a pen to represent Dunedin's City of Literature status, and other icons.
