Wellington Airport banks profit despite passenger decline

By Andrew Curran.

New Zealand’s Wellington Airport has posted an after-tax net profit of NZD15.7 million (USD 9.4 million) for the 12 months to March 31, 2026, while passenger numbers remained above five million.

The airport, New Zealand’s third busiest by passenger numbers, released its annual report on May 8, 2026.

“The financial results are pleasing and reflect a strong year of performance, particularly from the commercial side of the business,” said Wellington Airport CEO Matt Clarke. “This has been achieved despite pressure on regional connectivity and Air New Zealand’s well-known fleet availability issues.”

However, the 2025/26 profit was down 39.1% on the NZD25.8 million (USD15.4 million) after-tax net profit recorded by the airport over the 2024/25 year.

But last week’s annual report said the most recent result would help the airport manage ongoing external challenges, including Air New Zealand’s capacity constraints and rising fuel prices.

Passenger numbers down at Wellington Airport

The 5,083,637 passengers processed by the airport during the 12-months to March 31 represented a 4.4% decline from the 5,316,858 passengers handled in the previous corresponding period. The decrease was primarily due to Air New Zealand’s aircraft shortage, which was behind a 5.9% fall in domestic passenger traffic to 4,260,832 passengers.

Sounds Air, a small Blenheim (BHE) based carrier focused on flights across the Cook Strait separating New Zealand’s North and South Islands, successfully expanded its presence in Wellington last year by capitalising on Air New Zealand’s capacity cuts.

Aero South Pacific’s Wellington Airport Brief notes that Air New Zealand flies from Wellington to 16 airports. Before the recently announced network-wide capacity cuts this winter, the airline was operating more than 450 weekly departures from Wellington, including services to three international destinations, Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), and Brisbane (BNE).

International growth at Wellington Airport

The annual report noted that Wellington’s growing international network helped offset shrinking domestic passenger traffic last year.

It said Air New Zealand continued to grow its trans-Tasman operations by offering more flights and deploying larger aircraft, including A320neo family variants, on those routes.

However, the Qantas Group was the main driver behind international passenger growth, with traffic through Wellington rising 4.0% in the 12 months to March 31, increasing from 790,869 to 822,805 passengers.

Qantas boosted capacity into Wellington by 31% over the 2025/26 summer season.

“Qantas has been in growth mode,” the annual report stated. “The airline’s introduction of the A220-300 on the Brisbane route has proved popular with the travelling public, while extra flights to Sydney and Melbourne are improving connectivity across domestic Australia and Asia.”

Qantas flies twice daily between Wellington and Sydney, daily to Melbourne, and five times weekly to Brisbane.

The Qantas Group’s low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar, flies from Wellington to Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown (ZQN), and the Gold Coast (OOL). The report disclosed that the thrice-weekly Gold Coast service recorded the highest load factor among the airport’s trans-Tasman routes.

The airport’s other international airline, Fiji Airways, also continued to see passenger growth, with many travellers flying via Nadi (NAN) to connect onwards to North America and destinations across the Pacific.

Wellington Airport eyes Guanzghou flights

Like other airports, Wellington remains largely at the mercy of operational decisions made by its airline customers.

“The next 12 months are likely to be challenging for airlines,” the report noted, citing increased fuel prices this year.

Meanwhile, Wellington Airport remains hopeful of securing its first Asian city pairing, specifically Guangzhou (CAN), after signing an agreement with Guangzhou Airport last year aimed at improving connectivity.

“We continue to work with our airline partners to attract more capacity and routes to Wellington and are looking forward to welcoming long-haul flights to the capital when the time is right,” the annual report said.

You can read Wellington Airport's latest financial report here.

Photo: Wellington Airport.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com.