Wellington Airport is gearing up for the holiday season with more than 330,000 people expected to flood through the terminal over the Christmas period.
On Christmas Eve, more than 20,000 people will be flying in and out of the capital – the busiest day of them all. Capacity between Wellingtonand Tauranga, New Plymouth, Hamilton and Gisborne is almost twice as busy as it was pre-Covid and travel to Invercargill, Dunedin and Napier is 50 per cent busier.
Chief executive Steve Sanderson says its best travellers prepare ahead of time as all the extra people and new Covid regulations mean there could be longer wait times.
He says people should check-in online and ensure they are at the airport at least an hour before their flight leaves, and make sure they're ready to show their vaccine pass or negative PCR test.
"It's likely there may be longer queues than usual for check-in and boarding while travellers get used to the new requirements. We are advising travellers to check their airline's requirements before coming to the terminal and do as much as possible in advance, such as checking in online and uploading vaccine passes".
Masks will be mandatory throughout the airport and on flight and travellers must sign in using the Covid-19 tracer app.
Sanderson says the airport has been working closely with the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health to ensure it is complying with all aspects of the traffic light system.
"We will continue to deep clean all facilities and key touchpoints, ensure hand sanitisers are available and support our airport tenants to meet their own health and safety requirements."
