Airport arrivals reflect surge in foreign students

International aircraft movements to Auckland were up, but traditional long-haul passenger arrivals were sharply down. Photo / Richard Robinson

Auckland International Airport arrival figures are reflecting a surge in the number of foreign students coming to New Zealand.

The number of people arriving for education and medical purposes rose 22.4 per cent from 7358 in January last year to 9008 this year. Some education providers are reporting growth in foreign enrolments of 36 per cent.

Despite the cooling of the international student market worldwide, foreign students are taking advantage of the New Zealand dollar's sharply reduced exchange rate.

Auckland Airport enjoyed a 4.7 per cent increase in the number of international aircraft movements, but passenger numbers were down slightly.

International aircraft movements rose by 162, or 4.7 per cent, to 3622 in January, but international passenger numbers fell by 0.9 per cent to 720,140.

Domestic aircraft movements dropped by 7.8 per cent to 9560, mainly from decreased Qantas services and fewer small regional aircraft movements.

The number of domestic passengers fell 7.5 per cent to 427,158.

Arrivals from China were up 32.9 per cent to 13,672, as Chinese New Year fell earlier this year. Last year it was in February.

The growth in transtasman traffic reflected a big boost in Australian arrivals, but traditional long-haul markets were sharply down.

Passenger numbers from Australia were up 6.2 per cent to 47,270, but numbers from Britain fell 8.4 per cent to 31,735, and from the United States were down 14.9 per cent to 15,567.

The airport last month reported an underlying six-month profit up 8.3 per cent to $51.6 million. It expected a full-year profit in the $100 million to $110 million range before property revaluations.