Queenstown Airport is to pay its shareholders an interim dividend of $5.3M.

As the majority shareholder (75.01 percent), Queenstown Lakes District Council will receive just under $4M.

Releasing the interim report for the six months to 31 December 2023, Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) chair Adrienne Young-Cooper said the business had started the financial year well, with sustained demand for travel to and from Queenstown, especially on trans-Tasman routes, resulting in a strong financial performance.

Revenue and profit for the first half of the financial year were up 10 percent compared with the same period the previous year.

“It is pleasing to have established a cadence again after the upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Adrienne said

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She said domestic capacity was constrained during the reporting period after Pratt & Whitney engine issues necessitated changes to Air New Zealand’s flight schedules.

“This was balanced by growth in international passenger numbers, which underscores the enduring appeal of this region to the Australian market.”

Passenger movements (both arrivals and departures) for the period totalled 1,264,306 – up 3.3 percent on the first half of FY23 and very similar to pre-Covid numbers.

“We expect passenger numbers to remain strong over the next six months, producing steady revenue and delivering a solid full-year result.”

QAC chief executive Glen Sowry said good progress had been made on other key areas of focus, including long-term planning, the terminal upgrade programme, and projects to improve resilience, customer experience, and operational efficiency.

“Our significant investment in extra self-service kiosks and automated bag drops has sped up passenger processing and dramatically reduced congestion at the check-in area during peak times. It is an excellent example of how we are using technology to make the journey through Queenstown Airport smoother.

“We’ve also made changes behind the scenes, working with airlines to introduce slot coordination to better manage flight arrivals and departures, and establishing an integrated operations centre. These changes have increased operational efficiency and flexibility, which was particularly helpful during the Christmas-New Year peak.”

Glen said a significant milestone during the reporting period was the completion of a master plan to guide the development of Queenstown Airport over the coming decades.

“Consultation on a draft version of the plan gave us a valuable opportunity to talk to people across the Southern Lakes region about how we can develop an airport we can all be proud of and that meets the needs of the communities we serve, far into the future.

“The deep interest in our work reinforced what a vital role the airport plays as a social and economic enabler.

The business’s focus for the rest of the financial year would be detailed planning for a capital works programme to deliver on the master plan.

PHOTO: Supplied