April 2026 Monthly traffic update

15/05/2026 08:30 NZST, GENERAL

Key points:

• In April 2026 there was a total of 846k international passenger movements in the month, a 1% increase compared to the same month in 2025. International seat capacity declined 1% on the same month last year resulting in average load factors of 87%, a 1.4 percentage point increase;

• Reviewing the top five nationalities for non-transit international passengers shows New Zealand nationals decreased by 4% on prior year, Australian nationals decreased by 4%, USA nationals increased by 13%, Chinese nationals increased by 25% and UK nationals decreased by 6%;

• Passenger volume on short-haul international routes increased by 2% and seat capacity increased by 3%, with load factors of 88%, a 0.7 percentage point decrease. Passenger movements on long-haul international routes decreased by 1% and seat capacity decreased by 6% resulting in load factors of 86%, a 4.2 percentage point increase. Flights from Auckland to the Middle East continued to be impacted by the conflict in the region, with passengers and seat capacity on the Middle Eastern routes lower by 80% and 74% respectively for the month of April 2026 compared to April 2025;

• Domestic passenger movements increased by 1% in the month of April 2026 when compared to the same month in the prior year, with seat capacity increasing 2%, resulting in load factors of 84%. Passenger numbers on the domestic trunk routes grew 5% compared to the year prior on 6% more seat capacity, with load factors of 85%, a 1.1 percentage point decrease. Regional passenger numbers declined 7% and seat capacity declined by 9% with load factors of 81%, a 1.6 percentage point increase; and

• Queenstown Airport international passenger numbers in April 2026 increased by 3% on the year prior and domestic passengers increased by 9% on the same month last year.