'Be prepared': Auckland Airport gearing up for busiest international travel day

Travellers are advised to arrive early and be prepared for security screening as Auckland Airport braces for one of its busiest international departure days.

Around 15,000 passengers are expected to fly out of this airport this Saturday, as New Zealand and Australian school holidays line up with universities being on break.

"Between the 24th of June and the 19th of July, we're expecting about 26,000 international travellers a day and 22,000 domestic travellers. So 48,000 travellers a day moving through the place," Auckland Airport chief customer officer Scott Tasker told Morning Report.

Auckland Airport's international traveller numbers are up 1.5 percent on the same period in 2025, however domestic traveller numbers are predicted to be down 3.5 percent compared to last year.

Parts of the international terminal are currently being renovated, so some check-in zones have moved, and an additional check-in area has been set up to operate during peak hours of the day.

"The main thing is that travellers need to make sure that they check the screens when they arrive at the terminal to see where their flight is checking in, because some of the check-in zones have changed," Tasker said.

"But everything is running nice and normally, and we'll make sure people get through the process seamlessly."

With an increased number of passengers, comes an increased chance of delays at bottlenecks such as security.

"A general rule is for domestic flights, you need to be at the airport at least an hour before your flight departure. And for an international flight, two hours before departure.

"Get here early and you can relax and enjoy a coffee, do a little bit of shopping before you fly.

"The other thing is to be prepared for security," Tasker said, adding that a good tip is to make sure you don't have any batteries or electronic devices that have lithium batteries in your checked-in baggage.

"You need to have those in your carry-on."

Top international destinations for the holiday period are Australia, China and Fiji.

For domestic travellers, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown top the list.