Air New Zealand's passenger numbers dropped to a 16-month low in September with the largest city Auckland in a Covid-19 lockdown since 17 August, affecting international and domestic air traffic from the country's typically busiest airport.
The airline in September carried 266,000 passengers, down by 47.1pc from the 503,000 passengers carried in August and around 25pc of the 1.08mn carried in July and down more than 60pc from 679,000 passengers carried in September 2020. It was the lowest monthly level since the 67,000 passengers carried in May 2020, Air New Zealand said.
September passenger volumes were the third-lowest monthly level since March 2020 when Covid-19 travel restrictions were first imposed. Domestic travellers formed the bulk of passengers in September at 261,000, down by 60pc from 658,000 in September 2020. International travel from New Zealand has remained subdued with its borders largely closed, with the airline carrying around 5,000 passengers in September.
| Air New Zealand passengers ('000) | ||
| Passengers | Passenger load factor (%) | |
| Sep '21 | 266 | 43.6 |
| Aug '21 | 503 | 62.9 |
| Sep '20 | 679 | 46.8 |
| Jul-Sep 2021-22 | 1,845 | 64.2 |
| Jul-Sep 2020-21 | 1,742 | 47.4 |
| y-o-y % ± | -60.8 | -6.8 |
| m-o-m % ± | -47.1 | -30.7 |
| 2021 YTD vs 2020 YTD % ± | 5.9 | 16.8 |
| Source: Air New Zealand | ||
