More than a million travellers are expected to pass through Auckland Airport during the September school holidays, with international and domestic numbers split almost evenly.
Airport data shows 530,000 people will fly internationally or arrive from overseas between 17 September and 5 October, while 477,000 will travel within New Zealand.
Auckland Airport’s Chief Customer Officer Scott Tasker said travel demand remains strong.
“Kiwis love to travel, whether that’s reconnecting with friends and family, taking a holiday in an exotic location, or building business connections face-to-face. Australia is our top international destination over the holidays, with outbound travel from New Zealand across the trans-Tasman growing 6% over the 12 months to June 2025.”
Fiji, China and the United States are also popular international destinations. The airport expects its busiest day for international departures to be Sunday 21 September, when over 15,000 people are due to fly out. The peak for international arrivals is forecast for Friday 3 October, with around 15,500 travellers.
“Departures will see a spike in activity in the days leading into the school holidays, whereas arrivals will see more sustained growth in numbers, particularly from Saturday 27 September onwards,” Tasker said. “The international terminal will be a busy place, but we’ll have plenty of team members on hand to help travellers get where they need to be.”
Tasker said airlines have recently announced new capacity, including Jetstar adding almost 180,000 extra seats a year between Auckland and Australia.
While this is good news for travellers, he said international capacity is still sitting about 9% below pre-2019 levels.
“On some of our key long-haul routes to and from New Zealand capacity is really tight and this contrasts with the picture globally, where aviation fully recovered over 12 months ago. Even Australia has seen a complete rebound, averaging a 4% capacity increase in 2025 over and above what they had back in 2019.”
He added that recovering direct long-haul connections was crucial to supporting tourism.
“New Zealand is a bucket list destination for many visitors – our natural beauty, unique culture and isolation are what attracts people here. But we are a long-haul destination, so making travel as seamless as possible with few stopovers is really important to our attractiveness as a destination in key visitor source markets.”
Busy days and travel tips
International travellers are being urged to allow plenty of time at the airport, especially for morning departures when flights are expected to be full.
“International terminal Customs and Aviation Security screening opens at 4:30am and my advice to travellers is to come prepared to ensure those processes run as smoothly as possible,” Tasker said.
He suggested travellers check baggage rules before leaving home, empty water bottles before security, and use the electronic NZ Travel Declaration to speed up arrivals.
Domestic travel will also be busy, with the top destinations being Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown.
The three busiest days for domestic departures are Friday 19 September, Friday 26 September and Friday 3 October. Domestic arrivals will peak on Friday 26 September.
Tasker said travellers should plan ahead for parking as construction work is affecting some car park areas.
Busiest days at Auckland Airport
International departures:
- Sunday 21 September
- Friday 19 September
- Saturday 20 September
International arrivals:
- Friday 3 October
- Sunday 5 October
- Saturday 4 October
Domestic departures:
- Friday 19 September
- Friday 26 September
- Friday 3 October
Domestic arrivals:
- Friday 26 September
- Thursday 25 September
- Friday 3 October
