Air NZ passenger numbers skyrocketed 1158 per cent in May on same month in 2020

Air New Zealand’s passenger numbers skyrocketed 1158 per cent in May compared to the same period in 2020. But its total passenger volumes for year are 41 per cent down on 2020. In its monthly traffic update the national carrier said so far in 2021 it’s carried 7.8m passengers. This time last year it had carried 13m passengers, illustrating just how healthy the airline’s business was in the first two months of 2020, before the pandemic decimated the aviation industry. In May, the first full month of the trans-Tasman bubble being open, it carried 844,000 passengers, whereas in May last year it carried just 67,000 passengers. Meanwhile, Auckland International Airport said in a trading update it expected ongoing uncertainty around international travel to impact passenger numbers and related revenue for remainder of the calendar year. However, it did expect steady recovery from early 2022.<br/>