French fan surge through Auckland Airport

Auckland International Airport reported a 708 per cent surge in visitors from France during September. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Auckland International Airport reported a 708 per cent surge in visitors from France in September as the Rugby World Cup geared up.

The biggest airport in New Zealand handled 8658 visitors from France in September, up from 1072 in the same month last year.

France was beaten by New Zealand in the final on Sunday. It played its first game in the rugby tournament on September 10.

The airport handled 19,157 passengers arriving from the United Kingdom, up 121 per cent from the same month last year.

There was a 59 per cent rise in the number of visitors from Canada, 4.4 per cent rise in arrivals from Japan and 9.3 per cent rise in arrivals from the United States.

International aircraft movements rose by 4.5 per cent in September from the same month last year.

Domestic aircraft movements rose by 0.9 per cent in the same period.

Total international passenger movements rose by 5.3 per cent, while domestic passenger movements fell by 5.9 per cent.

International passenger movements rose by 35 per cent at Queenstown Airport in September and international aircraft movements rose by 44.1 per cent.

Queenstown handled 4.5 per cent more passengers and 16.7 per cent more domestic aircraft.