Air New Zealand pinpoints the busiest day for flying this summer

Air New Zealand is warning passengers to be prepared for a summer flying squeeze. Photo / Supplied

Air New Zealand is warning passengers to be prepared for a summer flying squeeze.

It says it will carry more than six million customers between December 1 and the end of March next year.

December and January are shaping up to be the busiest months, with the airline expecting to operate 30,000 flights over those two months.

The busiest single flying day will be Friday December 21 when Air New Zealand is expecting to operate more than 600 flights across its network.

The airline's general manager of customer experience Anita Hawthorne said operational teams were gearing up for summer.

It was hiring additional staff in customer facing roles at Auckland Airport during the summer peak.

In previous years congestion getting to and through the airport has caused problems with some passengers missing flights. Auckland Airport has said it has measures in place to minimise the risk of a repeat this year.

Hawthorne said with so many people travelling to family gatherings or major concerts – it was important for travellers to protect themselves by buying domestic travel insurance.

"Every year events outside our control, such as bad weather, mean travellers' plans don't always go as expected, and domestic travel insurance is often one of the things Kiwis enjoying their summer break in New Zealand forget."

She said travellers should sign up to Air New Zealand's Travel Alerts service and ensure all their details are correct in case the airline needs to make contact with them in the event of a travel disruption.