Sir Henry van der Heyden, Auckland Airport’s Chair, has stated that, “During 2018, Auckland Airport reached some important milestones in its core aeronautical and infrastructure development programme. We completed the first stage of our new international Pier B extension ahead of the 2017 summer peak travel period and fully completed the project in March 2018."

"We also reached 90% completion of our multi-stage redevelopment of the international terminal departure zone – which will be largely completed by the end of the calendar year – and completed a wide range of new transport projects to improve the flow of traffic around the airport precinct and support the growth in public transport connectivity to the airport”.

Performance highlights for 2018 include:

• Total number of passengers increased by 5.7% to 20.5 million.
• International and domestic MCTOW (Maximum Certificated Takeoff Weight) increased by 3.4% (up to 5,798,018 tonnes) and 4.6% (up to 2,341,699) respectively.
• Operating EBITDAFI (Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, fair value adjustments and investments in associates) up by 7% to $506.4 million.
• Total profit after tax rose 95.3% to $650.1 million (including the sale of North Queensland Airport holding).
• Underlying profit after tax was up 6.2% to $263.1 million.
• Underlying earnings per share rose 5.8% to 22.0 cents.
• Final dividend increased 4.8% to 11.00 cents per share.
• Proceeds from the AUD$370 million sale of North Queensland Airport holding used to reinvest in core aeronautical infrastructure as well as retire debt.
• Strong growth in total passenger numbers at Queenstown Airport which increased by 13.1% (or 248,226 passengers) in 2018.

“We are already starting to see the benefit of these projects on operational and service performance and customers are also benefiting from the changes through upgraded facilities, improved airport processes and a wider range of retail choices while at the airport."

Sir Henry says it was also pleasing to see another year of solid growth in travel and trade markets given the significant growth in the prior two years with many new carriers and new routes servicing both domestic and international markets out of Auckland.

In the year to 30 June 2018, the total number of passengers using Auckland Airport increased by 5.7% to 20.5 million with international passengers reaching 11.2 million (up 4.1% on FY17) and domestic passengers lifting 7.7% to 9.3 million.

2018 also saw good growth in international passenger markets with Chinese arrivals continuing to grow, up 10.9% in the year, and routes into the US and European markets also growing through the use of larger, next-generation aircraft such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350.

Sir Henry says, “The aviation market continues to be dynamic with many changes throughout 2018 as airline alliances and network plans evolved. Following the success of its Dubai direct service, in March 2018 Emirates withdrew its A380 services from the Tasman market and added a new service to Dubai via Bali." 

"At the same time existing Tasman carriers including Air New Zealand, Qantas and Virgin announced new services replacing much of the Tasman seat capacity lost by Emirates. Auckland Airport has responded well to these changes and it highlights the importance to Auckland Airport in maintaining a long-term view on infrastructure requirements rather than simply reflecting the airline alliances and business models of today.”

Auckland Airport continued to roll out new projects to improve operational and service performance throughout 2018, including:

• Completing the $120 million, 12,240sqm extension of the international terminal Pier B adding critical new aircraft stand and pier capacity.
• Completing 90% of the international departures processing project.
• Investing in new roads, access ways and dynamic management systems across our airport precinct to optimise the flow of traffic and transport around Auckland Airport.
• Launching Ava, Auckland Airport’s first online artificial intelligence customer service tool.
• Developing and launching our online virtual retail store ‘The Mall’ enabling passengers to conveniently choose from over 2,300 products across the international terminal duty and tax free stores. The Mall’s online platform is one of the most advanced of its type available at any airport in the world.

See also:

New Zealand hotel development on the rise, Dean Humphries Colliers International

InterContinental Hotel Auckland to anchor $1bn One Queen Street development in Commercial Bay

Auckland CBD Holiday Inn and EVEN Hotel site sold to Pro-Invest for $31m