Busiest winter school holiday ever on domestic network, half a million passengers fly Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand will be flying 7000 unaccompanied children over the holidays. Photo / Supplied, Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand says it is preparing for the busiest winter school holiday period ever, carrying well over half a million Kiwis domestically.

670000 seats across 7500 domestic flights this July is a new record for the national carrier.

"We've seen a 52 per cent increase in seats for this year's school holidays versus last year," said the airline's chief sales officer Leanne Geraghty. It is a big increase on July 2020 which, in spite of pent-up demand, were still affected by covid disruption.

100000 of these seats are heading to Queenstown, the number one destination for the holidays. However other regional airstrip are also seeing record numbers, with Napier and Tauranga seeing over 500 services each.

Geraghty said the airline was intending to operate 56 per cent more domestic flights than during last year's school holidays, to cope with demand.

Auckland Airport is preparing for its busiest day since the Pandemic. Photo / Will Waters, Unsplash

She said that the boost in demand illustrated "the confidence Kiwi families have in getting out to explore this beautiful country of ours."

Among the record number of seats Air New Zealand will be flying 7000 unaccompanied children during the two-week holiday.

The airline advises customers to arrive at the airport in plenty of time and expect some delays from busy terminals and unpredictable winter weather.

Auckland Airport has said it expects its busiest day since pre Pandemic travel.

On Friday around 28000 people will use the domestic terminal, as New Zealanders set off on school holiday travel.

Anna Cassels-Brown, general manager of operations at Auckland Airport, said airport staff were ready:

"Our staff have been working steadily through the recovery of the aviation and travel sector – now we're ready, and excited, about our biggest day since the outbreak of the pandemic."

Top 10 domestic travel days for July school holidays:

• Friday, 9 July
• Friday, 16 July
• Friday, 23 July
• Sunday, 11 July
• Sunday, 18 July
• Sunday, 25 July
• Monday, 12 July
• Thursday, 15 July
• Monday, 19 July
• Thursday, 22 July