October 2026 Monthly traffic update

Key points: • Total passenger movements in October 2026 were in line with the prior year, with an increase in international volumes offset by a reduction in domestic activity; • Total international passenger movements for October of 903k were 3% higher than the same month in 2025 with international seat capacity 2% higher than the same month last year, resulting in average load factors of 85%, a 0.9 percentage point increase; • A review of the top five nationalities among non-transit international passenger movements compared with the prior year shows that Chinese nationals increased by 15%, Australian nationals increased by 11%, US nationals increased by 5% and New Zealand nationals increased by 2% while UK nationals decreased by 1%; • Passenger movements on short-haul international routes increased by 6%, while seat capacity also increased by 6% compared with the prior year, resulting in average load factors of 85%, in line with the prior year. Passenger movements on long-haul international routes decreased by 1%, while seat capacity decreased by 4% compared with the prior year, resulting in average load factors of 84%, a 2.2 percentage point increase; • Domestic passenger movements were down on the prior year, reflecting the continued effects of airline capacity reductions during the month. Passenger movements in October decreased by 3% compared with the same month last year, and seat capacity declined by 5% over the same period, resulting in average load factors of 86%, a 2.1 percentage point increase year-on-year. Passenger movements on domestic trunk routes were in line, while seat capacity declined by 4%, resulting in average load factors of 87%, a 3.5 percentage point increase. Regional passenger movements declined by 9%, and seat capacity declined by 8%, resulting in average load factors of 82%, a 1.3 percentage point decrease; and • Queenstown Airport passenger movements increased by 11% in October compared with the same month last year, with international movements up 16% and domestic movements up 8%.