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List of the busiest airports in New Zealand facts for kids

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New Zealand is home to many busy airports! These airports are super important for people traveling around the country and for visitors coming from all over the world. They also help move goods and cargo.

This page shows you which airports in New Zealand are the busiest. We look at how many passengers fly through them and how many planes take off and land. The numbers are usually counted each year up to June 30th. We'll focus on the top 15 busiest airports.

Auckland Airport Seen From Light Plane 02
Auckland Airport
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Christchurch Airport
Airport, Airport Overview JP6847323
Wellington Airport
Queenstown Airport view from Deer Park
Queenstown Airport
Nelson Airport terminal
Nelson Airport
Dunedin Airport From the air
Dunedin Airport

How Many People Fly? (Passenger Numbers)

This section shows how many passengers traveled through New Zealand's busiest airports each year. It's a great way to see which airports are the most popular!

2023 Passenger Numbers

Rank Airport IATA Code Location Passengers
1. Auckland Airport AKL Auckland 15,861,264
2. Christchurch Airport CHC Christchurch 6,012,328
3. Wellington Airport WLG Wellington 5,413,325
4. Queenstown Airport ZQN Queenstown 2,370,320
5. Dunedin Airport DUD Dunedin 920,349
6. Nelson Airport NSN Nelson 915,173
7. Hawkes Bay Airport NPE Napier 646,096
8. Tauranga Airport TRG Tauranga
9. Palmerston North Airport PMR Palmerston North 534,651
10. New Plymouth Airport NPL New Plymouth 401,686
11. Hamilton Airport HLZ Hamilton 378,000
12. Invercargill Airport IVC Invercargill 375,000
13. Blenheim Airport BHE Blenheim 318,517
14. Rotorua Airport ROT Rotorua 219,948
15. Gisborne Airport GIS Gisborne 210,215

2022 Passenger Numbers

Rank Airport IATA Code Location Passengers
1. Auckland Airport AKL Auckland 11,460,325
2. Wellington Airport WLG Wellington 3,455,858
3. Christchurch Airport CHC Christchurch 3,257,414
4. Queenstown Airport ZQN Queenstown 1,863,590
5. Dunedin Airport DUD Dunedin 626,619
6. Nelson Airport NSN Nelson 619,000
7. Hawkes Bay Airport NPE Napier 394,000
8. Tauranga Airport TRG Tauranga 376,312
9. Palmerston North Airport PMR Palmerston North 323,615
10. Hamilton Airport HLZ Hamilton 283,000
11. Invercargill Airport IVC Invercargill 277,081
12. New Plymouth Airport NPL New Plymouth 243,858
13. Blenheim Airport BHE Blenheim 209,127
14. Rotorua Airport ROT Rotorua 155,459
15. Gisborne Airport GIS Gisborne 134,236

2021 Passenger Numbers

Rank Airport IATA Code Location Passengers
1. Auckland Airport AKL Auckland 6,443,639
2. Wellington Airport WLG Wellington 3,977,776
3. Christchurch Airport CHC Christchurch 3,705,373
4. Queenstown Airport ZQN Queenstown 931,659
5. Dunedin Airport DUD Dunedin 761,649
6. Nelson Airport NSN Nelson 725,000
7. Hawkes Bay Airport NPE Napier 461,000
8. Tauranga Airport TRG Tauranga 414,169
9. Palmerston North Airport PMR Palmerston North 401,000
10. Hamilton Airport HLZ Hamilton 358,000
11. Invercargill Airport IVC Invercargill 303,878
12. New Plymouth Airport NPL New Plymouth 277,000
13. Blenheim Airport BHE Blenheim 238,024
14. Rotorua Airport ROT Rotorua 179,500
15. Gisborne Airport GIS Gisborne 115,130

2020 Passenger Numbers

Rank Airport IATA Code Location Passengers
1. Auckland Airport AKL Auckland 15,521,054
2. Christchurch Airport CHC Christchurch 5,194,982
3. Wellington Airport WLG Wellington 4,759,442
4. Queenstown Airport ZQN Queenstown 1,291,501
5. Dunedin Airport DUD Dunedin 793,556
6. Nelson Airport NSN Nelson 782,000
7. Hawkes Bay Airport NPE Napier 541,087
8. Palmerston North Airport PMR Palmerston North 498,000
9. Tauranga Airport TRG Tauranga 389,000
10. New Plymouth Airport NPL New Plymouth 324,214
11. Hamilton Airport HLZ Hamilton 304,000
12. Invercargill Airport IVC Invercargill 290,432
13. Blenheim Airport BHE Blenheim 246,325
14. Rotorua Airport ROT Rotorua 205,143
15. Gisborne Airport GIS Gisborne 196,500

2019 Passenger Numbers

Rank Airport IATA Code Location Passengers
1. Auckland Airport AKL Auckland 21,625,370
2. Christchurch Airport CHC Christchurch 6,931,441
3. Wellington Airport WLG Wellington 6,441,935
4. Queenstown Airport ZQN Queenstown 2,321,347
5. Dunedin Airport DUD Dunedin 1,077,475
6. Nelson Airport NSN Nelson 1,076,686
7. Hawkes Bay Airport NPE Napier 750,357
8. Palmerston North Airport PMR Palmerston North 687,142
9. Tauranga Airport TRG Tauranga 475,000
10. New Plymouth Airport NPL New Plymouth 456,766
11. Hamilton Airport HLZ Hamilton 382,000
12. Invercargill Airport IVC Invercargill 321,000
13. Blenheim Airport BHE Blenheim 317,000
14. Rotorua Airport ROT Rotorua 265,443
15. Gisborne Airport GIS Gisborne 191,651

How Many Planes Take Off and Land? (Aircraft Movements)

This section looks at how many times planes take off or land at an airport. This includes all kinds of flights, from big passenger jets to smaller private planes. It helps us understand how busy the airspace around an airport is.

2021-22 Aircraft Movements

Rank Airport IATA Code Location Movements
1 Auckland Airport AKL Auckland 54,007
2 Christchurch Airport CHC Christchurch 42,653
3 Wellington Airport WLG Wellington 41,032
4 Tauranga Airport TRG Tauranga 29,807
5 Palmerston North Airport PMR Palmerston North 23,651
6 Nelson Airport NSN Nelson 21,641
7 Queenstown Airport ZQN Queenstown 17,830
8 Hamilton Airport HLZ Hamilton 16,281
9 Kapiti Coast Airport PPQ Paraparaumu 14,278
10 New Plymouth Airport NPL New Plymouth 12,248
11 RNZAF Base Ohakea OHA Ohakea 12,008
12 Woodbourne Airport BHE Blenheim 10,974
13 Gisborne Airport GIS Gisborne 10,082
14 Hawkes Bay Airport NPE Napier 10,073
15 Invercargill Airport IVC Invercargill 9,282
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