August 2026 Monthly traffic update

Key points: • In August 2026, total international passenger movements were 785k, in line with the same month in 2025. International seat capacity in August decreased 3% on the same month last year resulting in average load factors of 81%, a 2.6 percentage point increase on the prior year; • Reviewing the top five nationalities for non-transit international passengers movements shows US nationals increased by 14%, Chinese nationals increased by 9%, Australian nationals decreased by 2%, New Zealand nationals decreased by 3%, and UK nationals decreased by 5% all compared to the prior year; • Passenger volumes on short-haul international routes increased by 1% and seat capacity decreased by 1% compared with the prior year, with load factors of 80%, a 2.0 percentage point increase. Passenger movements on long-haul international routes decreased by 2% and seat capacity decreased by 6% compared with the prior year, resulting in load factors of 81%, a 3.5 percentage point increase; • Domestic passenger movements in the month were down on the prior year reflecting the continued effects of capacity reductions during the month. Passenger movements in August decreased by 5% compared with the same month last year and seat capacity declined by 8% over the same period, resulting in a higher load factor of 86%, an increase of 2.7 percentage points year-on-year. Passenger movements on the domestic trunk routes in August decreased 4% and seat capacity declined 7%, with load factors of 87%, a 3.2 percentage point increase. Regional passenger movements in August declined 10% and seat capacity declined by 11% with load factors of 84%, a 1.4 percentage point increase; and • Queenstown Airport passenger movements increased by 8% in August compared with the same month last year, with international movements up 18% and domestic movements up 1%.