AIR - May 2022 Monthly traffic update and June 2022 Preview

Thursday 14th July 2022

19.3%. Auckland Airport’s total passenger volumes increased by 19.3% in May 2022 versus May 2021, but were down 46.1% compared to the pre-COVID equivalent in May 2019. Compared to May 2021, international passengers (excl. transits) were up 108.7%, transit passengers were up 6096% and domestic passengers were down by 4.8%.

Key Points:

• International passenger recovery continues with passenger numbers for May 2022 increasing 28% on prior month representing a 38% recovery compared to May 2019. Leading the recovery are Australian passport holders, at 53.6% versus May 2019 and New Zealand passport holders at 46.8%.

• Short haul international traffic improved with 206k passengers travelling in the month, a recovery of 47% versus May 2019. Long haul international recovery continues to lag short-haul with traffic 24.3% of May 2019.

• For the month of May 2022, the majority of international passenger movements occurred across the Tasman (159k) with the next most popular route being Fiji (23k), closely followed by Singapore.

• Load factors on international flights are exceeding pre-COVID levels. May is traditionally one of the quieter months in terms of load factors, however May 2022 experienced load factors in line with December 2019, showing a combination of robust demand and a shortage of airline capacity.

• 29th May 2022 was a record day for international passenger numbers post COVID, with 11,352 international passengers travelling through the airport. The last time daily passenger volume was higher was 26 months ago on 22 March 2020.

• Demand on the domestic network improved, increasing 11% on the prior month even though May, like the international network, is traditionally a quieter month. Domestic passenger volume recovered to 72.4% of May 2019 with recovery on regional sectors at 74.6% compared to 71.6% on jet sectors.

• Queenstown airport welcomed international passengers for the first time since July 2021.

June 2022 Monthly traffic preview.

37.9%. Auckland Airport total passenger volumes increased by 37.9% in June 2022 versus June 2021, but were down 37.9% compared to the pre-COVID equivalent in June 2019. Compared to June 2021, international passengers (excl. transits) were up 145.1%, transit passengers were up 3003% and domestic passengers were up by 9.3%.

Key Points:

• International passenger recovery continues with passenger numbers for June 2022 increasing 11% on prior month representing a 41.9% recovery compared to June 2019;

• Load factors on international flights were at levels not observed since 2015 demonstrating a combination of strong passenger demand and a shortage of airline capacity. Short-haul international load factors were 90% for June 2022, higher than any other month in over seven years of operations. Long-haul international load factors were slightly below historic levels due to softness on routes that operate to and from countries with the most restrictive border settings (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan). If these routes were excluded, then average long-haul load factors increase to 88%. Load factors this high are only traditionally observed during peak summer months;

• Short-haul international recovery improved during June 2022 and is now 55% of June 2019. There were 29k passengers that travelled to and from Fiji during the month, approximately two-thirds of pre-COVID levels and 27k passengers travelled to and from the Cook Islands, which is a recovery of 98.5% relative to June 2019. 84k passengers travelled across the Tasman which is 54% of June 2019.

• Demand on long-haul routes in June 2022 when compared to June 2019 was similar to last month at 24.6%. The modest improvement to performance reflects a shortage of airline capacity on routes which is resulting in higher load factors and higher air fares. Long-haul airline capacity is expected to increase during July 2022 with the return of Hawaiian Airlines, an increase in flights to and from Santiago and Air New Zealand’s touted ‘Relaunch of 14 international routes in 16 days’.

• Australian passport holders continue to firm, recovering to 59.8% of June 2019 and New Zealand passports at 48.6%. European demand is now at 39.1%, with pronounced strength of UK passports at 44.1% of June 2019 levels. Indian traffic is improving quickly with Indian passport holders now at 40.4% of June 2019.

• Demand on the domestic network improved, increasing 10% on the prior month. Domestic passenger volume recovered to 86.8% of June 2019 with recovery on regional sectors at 85.4% compared to 87.4% on jet sectors. Passengers on Queenstown route exceeded June 2019 volume with 79k passengers for the month, growth of 3.5% on June 2019.

Please see attached pdf for full report.

May 2022 Monthly Traffic update and June 2022 Preview

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