Christchurch Airport is the beginning of the Christchurch experience.

As the international gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch Airport is a major hub and the busiest and most strategic air connection to the world's trade and tourism markets. The airport is New Zealand's second largest airport with 10 partner airlines coming from 22 destinations.

Christchurch International Airport Limited (CIAL) has notched up another record year.

It has made an underlying profit before tax for the financial year ended 30 June 2019 of $66.9 million – up 17 per cent on the previous year’s result. The CIAL Board has declared a full year total dividend of $43.3 million for the financial year, which is up on the $40.4 million dividend it declared in the previous year.

This is the fourth year in a row the airport company has produced both a record underlying profit and a record dividend for shareholders.

During the 2019 financial year the airport handled 6.93 million passengers, up 65,000 on the previous year. Passengers travelled on 73,000 flights, up 2 per cent on 2018.

Click here to see airport arrivals and departures

New direct flights between Christchurch and Los Angeles will provide a big boost for tourism in South Island.
American Airlines, in association with Qantas, will operate the new service three times a week from October 2020 to March 2021.

Data shows that Americans who enter the country through Christchurch Airport spend 32 per cent more and stay 34 per cent longer than if they arrive elsewhere.
When they arrive into Christchurch, American visitors spend 77 per cent of their time in the regions of the South Island, compared to the American visitor average of 51 per cent when they arrive elsewhere.

Based on government data, the seasonal service is forecast to bring in an extra $52 million in visitor spend for New Zealand, with $40 million of that in South Island regions. This is the ideal combination of national value impact and regional economic impact.

US visitor arrivals into Christchurch grew by 14 percent last year, as part of our growth in passenger numbers being higher than the national average.