Airport prepares for holiday surge

Auckland Airport is bracing for some of its busiest days of the year as school holidays get under way and fans travel across the Tasman for tonight’s Warriors’ clash.

About 15,000 travellers a day are expected through the airport’s terminals this week. The greatest number of domestic travellers flying out of Auckland were expected yesterday and a surge of passengers is leaving for international destinations today.

Travel to South Island holiday hotspots was disrupted yesterday morning by overnight flooding.

Auckland Airport chief customer officer Scott Tasker said the busiest days for international departures during the holidays were expected to be yesterday and today, while the busiest for international arrivals were likely to be next Sunday and the final weekend of the school holidays.

Domestically, the busiest departure days are expected to be next Friday, September 29, Thursday, October 5, and Friday, October 6. The busiest arrival days are September 29 and October 6.

“These school holidays are going to be busy with lots of people heading away, and now even more so with the Warriors in the NRL preliminary final in Brisbane. We ask that travellers come prepared and allow plenty of time,” Tasker said.

Average daily passenger numbers these school holidays are expected to be 10 per cent higher than for the July school holidays.

To deal with the anticipated crowds, extra staff have been brought in and a new fast-track biosecurity trial implemented for low-risk passengers to skip queues at the border.

Earlier this week Auckland Airport, Biosecurity New Zealand and other government departments apologised after passengers experienced long processing delays at the border.

Those entering New Zealand have repeatedly complained about long waits, with hundreds standing in queues for more than two hours after midnight and there being nowhere for the elderly and children to rest.

Auckland Airport is expecting up to 15,000 travellers a day through its terminals on the first three days of the school holidays.

Bookings are at 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

The airport said building work was continuing in the domestic and international terminals, which might add to pressure on passengers. Toilets in the domestic terminal are being rebuilt.