Easing curbs lift Auckland airport passenger numbers

Passenger numbers at New Zealand's Auckland airport in December rose almost fivefold from November after Covid-19 travel restrictions for the country's largest city were lifted on 1 December. But most of the rise came from domestic travel in the second half of the month to coincide with the Christmas and new year holiday season.

December passenger numbers rose to almost 349,000 from around 59,000 in November. But this was still down from the 581,500 passengers in December 2020 and was the highest monthly level since more than 417,000 passengers in August, Auckland Airport said.

Entry to New Zealand remained restricted in December with the phasing out of international Covid-19 travel restrictions due to start in February. While this has not yet changed, the country on 24 January moved to its highest alert level because of domestic transmission of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

International passenger numbers in December increased from the previous month with an increase in outbound and inbound traffic, with the later the result of recognised seasonal employer workers arriving in New Zealand from Pacific island nations, Auckland Airport said. Quarantine-free travel with the Cook Islands also restarted on 14 January.

The first two weeks of December saw domestic passenger demand in line with the previous month but down by 92pc against December 2020. The removal of Auckland's regional border restrictions saw domestic air traffic increase for the rest of last month but down by 7pc compared with December 2020.

By Kevin Morrison