Wellington Airport Preparing for Busy Holiday Period
- 2024-12-19
Wellington Airport is preparing for another busy holiday period with around one million travellers expected in December and January.
Around 891,000 seats will be operated on domestic and 189,000 on international flights, with the number of international seats up 12% on the same period last year.
Wellington Airport’s Head of Operations Matthew Palliser says:
“Our advice for travellers is to check in online before leaving home if you can, and get here early to allow plenty of time to drop off your bags and go through security.
“We’ll have regular live entertainment and a forest of Christmas Trees has sprouted in the terminal as part of the annual Cystic Fibrosis Christmas Tree Festival.
“Kidzone is also back this week, providing a fun space for little ones and their families.”
The busiest day was last Friday (December 13th) with 22,000 seats. The 19th and 20th of December will also be very busy with over 20,000 seats and the 31st of January just short of that (19,900).
Brisbane and Melbourne are popular destinations from Wellington this summer, with a 29% and 22% increase in seats respectively from the same period last year. Both Qantas and Air New Zealand are operating larger aircraft to Brisbane, and for Melbourne, Qantas has added a second daily flight three times a week.
Fiji is also popular with seats up by 12% from this period last year, thanks to Fiji Airways adding a fourth weekly flight in certain weeks.
Jetstar is adding more domestic flights to Auckland and Christchurch while Sounds Air and Origin Air are also operating more flights.
Wellington Airport’s advice for travellers
- Book a car park online, well ahead of travel dates, to secure a space and get the best deal.
- Check out the latest information from the Aviation Security Service (AvSec) on what items can you travel with in your carry-on or checked bags.
- Everyone travelling into New Zealand must complete the New Zealand Traveller Declaration which can be done online.
- Airpods are the commonly lost item, and they look the same, so we recommend adding a sticker to distinguish them. Double-check the tray after going through security screening!
- It will be busy at times - please be patient if there are any unexpected issues.
