International passenger numbers through Auckland Airport in December were the highest since the pandemic hit five years ago. 

In December 2024, there was a total of 1,028,445 international passenger movements in the month, a 6% increase compared to the same month in 2023. 

That was the highest number of international passengers in a month since January 2020. 

International passengers, excluding transits, last month increased by 7% compared to December 2023, representing a recovery to 93% of the pre-Covid equivalent. 

It was the highest recovery rate since the outbreak of the pandemic which began with reports of growing sickness in China in January, 2020, before spreading around the world and paralysing travel. 

Last month, Australian and New Zealand passport holders accounted for 53% of all international passenger movements during the month with their numbers increasing by 7% on last year. 

Passenger numbers through Auckland Airport are heading towards pre-pandemic levels as North American and Chinese visitors start coming back. Photo / Brett Phibbs 

New Zealand passenger numbers are now 4% ahead of pre-Covid levels, Auckland Airport said in an NZX announcement. 

All other passport holders increased by 8% compared to the same month last year with North American passport holders increasing by 12%, now exceeding pre-Covid levels, and European passports increasing by 10%. 

The airport during the latest 12 months handled 18.7 million passengers, down on the 20.9 million total for the year to December 2019. 

The surge in passenger numbers late last year was working out better for airlines but there were fewer seats for passengers. 

Although international passenger numbers increased by 6% in December, airline seat capacity decreased by 1% compared to December 2023. 

That meant an improvement to airline load factors of 5.6 percentage points to 85.6%. 

Routes that improved most were North America, increasing by 8.4 percentage points and the Chinese routes which improved by 17.1 percentage points, a market which is recovering after a slow start. 

Transit movements declined 15% to 58,000 due to airlines focusing on New Zealand point-to-point demand at the expense of North and South America to Australia passenger flows. 

Domestic passenger movements were flat in the month of December 2024 when compared to the same month in the previous year, with seat capacity increasing by 2%. 

Domestic passengers on the jet routes increased by 1%, compared to a 4% decrease on regional routes. 

Total aircraft movements at Auckland are now higher than before the pandemic. 

In the year to December 2024 there were 18,848 movements and in the 12 months to December 2019 there were 18,240. 

Auckland Airport has a 25% stake in Queenstown Airport where international passenger numbers in December 2024 increased 11% to 92,477 on the year before. 

And domestic passenger numbers at Queenstown increased to 156,329, or 1% on the same month a year before. 

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.