Wellington Airport has been busy – and it has the figures to prove it.
The airport has announced its financial results for the 12 months to March 31, 2022.
"While it’s been a rollercoaster 12 months for the aviation sector, it’s pleasing to end on a positive note with the re-opening of international borders and full flights connecting happy travellers,” says Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke.
The airport has returned to profit in 2021/22 with an after-tax profit of $3 million.
Total passengers for the year ended March 31, 2022 reached more than 3.5 million, an increase of 19 per cent on the prior year. Just 48,667 of these were international passengers, due to the impacts of COVID-19.
"Looking forward there are good reasons for optimism. We welcomed back trans-Tasman flights in March and more international flights are being re-introduced over the next few months by Air New Zealand, Qantas, Jetstar and Fiji Airways. It’s great to see the terminal busy and buzzing again.
"This is encouraging given the impact of COVID-19 on our business. In July 2021, when domestic travel was relatively unrestricted, domestic traffic had recovered to 93 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels. However, in September 2021, following the reimposition of restrictions, traffic reduced to 45 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels.
"With every challenge comes opportunity, and we’ve been able to complete essential works needed for regulatory, resilience and safety reasons. This includes beginning reconstruction of our main taxiway for the first time since the Airport opened in 1959, and progressing our plans to implement the Airport Masterplan and terminal expansion.
"We’re proud of our sustainability work programme. In the last year we’ve welcomed our first electric flight and are working hard to reduce our energy use and operational emissions by 30% by 2030. We’re also looking forward to helping the wider aviation sector transition to lower emissions through electric flights and new, sustainable aviation fuels."
