Auckland Airport releases 1H FY26 interim financial results

By Andrew Curran.

Auckland Airport’s net underlying after-tax profit for the six months ended December 31, 2025, crept up 6% to NZD157.1 million (USD93.7 million), with the airport benefitting from steadily increasing passenger traffic and revenue.

The airport's interim financial results for the first half of the 2026 fiscal year were detailed in a February 19, 2026, New Zealand Stock Exchange filing.

Key metrics included a 4% increase in revenue to NZD519.6 million (USD310 million) and capital expenditures of NZD430.6 million (USD257 million).

While the headline net underlying after-tax profit was up, the bottom-line profit, the reported after-tax profit, fell 5% to NZD177 million (USD105.6 million). 

But Auckland Airport CEO Carrie Hurihanganui put an upbeat spin on the results, saying the airport was “expected to continue its positive trajectory.”

Auckland Airport stresses economic value of international flights

As well as being New Zealand’s busiest domestic airport, Auckland Airport handles 67% of all international arrivals into the country. Twenty-five international airlines link the airport with 42 international airports.

In the latter half of 2025, 9.64 million passengers passed through Auckland Airport, including 4.37 million domestic passengers and 5.27 million international passengers.

Hurihanganui said the most significant international highlight during the latter half of last year was the launch of China Eastern’s Shanghai (PVG) - Auckland (AKL) - Buenos Aires (EZE) service.

“The service places Auckland Airport at the heart of the world’s longest direct flight, delivering an estimated NZD110 million (USD65.6 million) in benefits to New Zealand’s economy annually,” she said.

According to the airport, every international passenger aircraft that lands at Auckland generates around NZD1.4 million (USD830,000) in economic value.

“International travel at Auckland Airport is an essential driver of the economy, generating over NZD35.1 billion (USD21 billion) in economic output in trade, tourism and employment,” added Hurihanganui.

Auckland Airport CEO optimistic about 2026

The CEO’s commentary accompanying the results focused on international movements through the airport.

“Overall, it’s been a promising start to the 2026 financial year for international travel as seat capacity increased 1.8% during the half-year compared to 2025, lifting the recovery in non-transit passenger movements to 93% of the same period in FY19,” said Hurihanganui.

“We were pleased to see Air New Zealand grow its network from Auckland, with seat capacity to Australia up 8.4%, and capacity to the Pacific Islands increasing by 7.3%. This growth was complemented by welcomed capacity increases from Jetstar and Qantas, which lifted seat capacity from Auckland Airport to Australia by 4% and 7.3% respectively during the half year.”

While Hurihanganui was optimistic about 2026, she noted that ongoing global fleet shortages were expected to continue to impact the availability of new seat capacity supply and the pace of growth.

Domestic carriers using Auckland Airport include Air New Zealand, Jetstar, and Air Chathams. Hurihanganui said the last half of 2025 saw the biggest boost to domestic jet seat capacity in a decade, although overall domestic seat numbers still slightly lagged the immediate pre-Covid era numbers.

“Overall, there was a 5% increase in domestic jet seat capacity or 181,000 seats in the local aviation market during the half-year, helping to make flying more affordable on key routes with average jet airfare costs falling by 6% during the period,” noted the CEO.

The interim results also underscored the role Auckland Airport plays moving freight in and out of New Zealand. The airport processed 85,814 tonnes of international cargo movements in the last half of last year. The airport values that cargo at NZD20.3 billion (NZD12.1 million), including exports worth NZD8.2 billion (USD4.9 billion) and imports worth NZD12.1 billion (USD7.2 billion).

You can read the stock exchange filing here.

Photo: Auckland Airport.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com