The records continue to tumble at Queenstown Airport, although its boss reckons ‘the big one’ won’t be reached till the end of the decade.
Passenger stats for 2025 show a total of 2,717,258 people moved through the airport — up from 2,566,584 in 2024.
Last month, 272,757 passengers travelled through ZQN, the highest month on record, while over the course of the year the airport also broke the million mark for international passenger movements, totalling 1,001,401 between January and December.
Domestic passenger movements for the year totalled 1,715,857.
Scheduled aircraft movements for the year also increased to 19,148, up from 18,838 in ’24.
And with at least 84,000 additional seats across transtasman and domestic services coming online over this year, the numbers will continue to rise.
Airport CEO Shane O’Hare says they’re forecasting about 2.75million passenger movements for this financial year, compared to 2.6m in FY25.
“The 3 million passenger milestone is … not likely until the end of [this] decade.”
O’Hare says passenger growth was anticipated in the airport’s masterplan “and underscores the need for the investment in infrastructure now under way”.
“This programme is gaining considerable momentum, with several major projects well under way and others to start soon.
“We are excited about this once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver an airport that people love to travel through, and our community takes pride in,” he says.
Associate Minister of Transport James Meager was briefed on the project yesterday.
— TRACEY ROXBURGH