Kiwis Launch Into School Holidays With Smooth Departures At Auckland Airport

Kiwi travellers have taken smoothly to new travel protocols at Auckland Airport in the first school-holiday travel period under Alert Level 2.

The domestic terminal was on track to have more than 19,000 passengers today – one of the busiest days for air travel this September school holidays.

Anna Cassels-Brown, General Manager Operations, said things were going smoothly inside the terminal, where passengers are asked to follow the government’s physical distancing protocols.

“We’ve worked for weeks alongside the airlines, our aviation partners and the retailers inside the terminal to get ready for this school holiday period. Now we’re asking travelling customers to do their bit by being ready to present their confirmed ticket to fly when they arrive at the terminal door – you’ll need to show this to our door staff to get inside.

“If you have your ticket ready to present – whether it’s a printout or an app or an email on your phone – then the first step to get you inside the terminal will be faster and smoother for everyone,” said Ms Cassels-Brown. “Once you’re inside, please wear a mask or face coving, keep your distance from people you don’t know, and make sure you’ve scanned the NZ COVID Tracer QR code.”

There has been strong demand for travel during the school holidays, with domestic passenger numbers overall expected to reach about 65% of those from the same school holiday period in 2019.

Friday 2 October and Friday 9 October are expected to be the busiest days of the school holiday period, with almost 20,000 passengers expected on each day.

With Air New Zealand adding extra flights and Jetstar restarting its domestic services, Christchurch is the most popular destination for Aucklanders getting out of town over the September holidays, followed by Wellington, Queenstown, Dunedin and Nelson.

All food and beverage operators and most other retailers in the domestic terminal are open for business.

Domestic passenger volumes for the September school holidays are forecast to be about 7% higher than in the July school holidays.

The school holiday period runs from Friday, 25 September to Sunday, 11 October.

Hot tips for travellers:

• Have proof of your ticket ready to show as soon as you reach the terminal door
• Maintain 2 metres physical distancing outside the terminal, and 1 metre inside the terminal
• Wear a face mask or covering when inside the terminal
• Scan one of the NZ COVID Tracer App QR codes displayed around the terminal
• When passing through aviation security, have your carry-on luggage ready to be scanned

Top 10 domestic travel days for September school holidays:

1. Friday, 2 October 2020

2. Friday, 9 October 2020

3. Friday, 25 September 2020

4. Thursday, 8 October 2020

5. Thursday, 1 October 2020

6. Sunday, 4 October 2020

7. Sunday, 11 October 2020

8. Sunday, 27 September 2020

9. Monday, 5 October 2020

10. Monday, 28 September 2020

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