Pulling out of terminal slide

Auckland Airport’s international terminal is said to have its hum back, with emotions high among travellers reuniting with family and friends after more than a year of closed borders.

Tom Bryne, general manager of The Loop Duty Free at Auckland Airport, said trading at the Irish retail chain’s three outlets in the international terminal was off to a good start this week following the bubble opening up on Monday.

While sales so far only accounted for 20-30 per cent of regular earnings, Bryne said it was a far cry from virtually no sales recorded last year. “It’s been a very dark year for a lot of businesses and a lot of people and we are certainly one of those, so we’re absolutely delighted that the bubble is in operation,” Bryne told the Herald yesterday. Australian travellers alone were not enough to provide the sales revenue The Loop is used to, he said. “The transtasman movement between Australians and New Zealanders helps us a lot, but it certainly doesn’t get us out of the woods . . . there’s still a big gap there, a lot of work to do.”

A big chunk of The Loop’s around 150 retail sales staff that worked in the international outlets were last year redeployed to its outlets in the domestic terminal and its pop-up in Sylvia Park shopping mall. It was a happy time for staff to return to the international terminal this week, said Bryne.