More and more people missing overseas flights

More travellers are missing international flights because they are failing to allow enough time to get through formalities at the airport.

Travel agents and aviation industry insiders said today there had been an increase in the number of passengers missing flights.

Flight Centre marketing manager Shane Parlato said travel agents at Auckland International Airport were now dealing with at least two or three stranded passengers every day.

People were missing flights due to the simplest of errors.

"There are a range of reasons, from arriving too late to forgetting their tickets, and many of their issues could have been solved had they got to the airport early enough," said Mr Parlato.

Other common reasons for missing flights included spending too long in duty free, misreading the time on their ticket or simply arriving too late.

"We have had people arrive 10 minutes before their flight is due to depart, still expecting to get on," he said.

Increased airport security meant that travellers had to allow more time to pass through extra procedures.

"Unfortunately in today's security-conscious environment, the kiwi 'she'll be right' attitude doesn't wash when it comes to international travel," said Mr Parlato.

"Our airport office has seen a surprising number of passengers turned away because their passport is falling apart."

Travel industry publisher Tony Dominey said some people even held the belief that once they had checked in their flight would not leave without them.

"This is totally wrong and the more congested the airport gets the more important it is passengers are there on time."

Air New Zealand spokeswoman Rosie Paul said the airline had sent out several warnings that airport congestion was growing.

The airline's passenger numbers were rising thanks to the new Tasman Express service and the busy holiday season was coming up.

International check-in counters were being opened three hours before departure and passengers were urged to arrive at least two hours prior to flying, said Ms Paul.

It was particularly important on some Tasman Express tickets which were issued on a "use it or lose it" basis.

The country's busiest airport, Auckland International, has reported an unprecedented rise in passenger numbers and management has put in place several measures to smooth the flow of people.

Don Huse, airport chief executive, said a number of initiatives were up and running, and a new information campaign for travellers would be launched within the next few weeks.

"But the bottom line is, you get there earlier and there's a slimmer margin for error," said Mr Huse.