Australian visitors flock here in record numbers

A total of 715,115 Australians passed through Auckland International Airport over the past 12 months, up 66,098 on the previous year.

Hannah Lynch
Tue, 24 Jul 2012

BUSINESSDESK: Auckland International Airport, which is targeting Asian arrivals to stoke growth over the next decade, flagged an 11% increase in international arrivals in June over the same month last year.

The rise was so large because of the Chilean ash cloud that caused flight cancellations in June 2011.

The latest monthly update completes a full 12 months of AIA's financial year, in which it processed more than seven million international passengers, excluding transits, for the first time.

China and Australia led the growth, with the 66,098 increase in the number of Australian visitors in the 12 months to June 30 "the largest increase in visitors from a single country".

A total of 715,115 Australians passed through AIA over the 12 months, compared to 649,017 the previous year.

For the June month, total international passenger movements, stripping out transits, totalled 536,297 in June from the same month a year earlier, the airport said in a statement. That was led by a 40.1% surge in Chinese arrivals to 9691 and a 20.3% jump in Australian arrivals to 50,041.

Domestic passenger movements rose 14.6% to 503,832 in June from the same month a year earlier.

There was strong domestic growth across the whole group, with Queenstown Airport, of which Auckland Airport owns quarter, rising 52.4% to 11,525.

AIA also has stakes in Australia’s Cairns and Mackay airports. Cairns reported a 7.9% increase to 284,147 in domestic passengers, while international passengers fell 19.2% to 47,166.

Mackay domestic passengers climbed 11.2% to 97,055. International passengers dropped 7.6% to 1205.

Shares in Auckland Airport are up 1.9% and are currently trading at $2.64.

Hannah Lynch
Tue, 24 Jul 2012

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Australian visitors flock here in record numbers