Passenger numbers reach for the sky at Hamilton Airport
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Waikato travellers have taken to a return of trans-Tasman flights from Hamilton, with a 39% leap in Hamilton Airport passenger numbers in the second half of last year.
And along with more incoming Aussies, some Kiwis are even driving down from Bombay to skip a trip out of Auckland over a Waikato offering.
Hamilton Airport recorded the surge in passenger numbers during the six months to December 2025 - an increase of 71,000 travellers on the year earlier.
According to their six-month report around 55,000 flyers were taking to the skies for international routes between Hamilton, Sydney and the Gold Coast.
Hamilton Airport chief executive Mark Morgan said that since the start of Jetstar’s daily international flights across the ditch, “the buzz hasn’t stopped since”.
The Waikato Times had earlier revealed that in the first month since the service launched, almost 9000 passengers took flights to Australia.
Morgan said the international flights had been “really well supported”.
“Hamilton Airport is now welcoming passengers from across the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, King County and Taranaki who find it easier to board here, than drive to Auckland.”
He said they had even had people drive from Bombay to Hamilton to catch flights “because flight times are convenient, fares are cheaper and they can dodge Auckland traffic”.
More importantly though, he said there are now “thousands of passengers landing in Hamilton direct from Australia”.
“Spending time with friends and family and going out to explore the central North Island and the rest of New Zealand,” he said.
“It’s been fantastic to see.”
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism general manager Nicola Greenwell said that since 2025, Waikato had seen a 24% rise in Australian visitor days.
“Our Australian visitors are loving what the mighty Waikato has to offer,” Greenwell said.
“Visitors from across the ditch account for 18% of our international expenditure in the region. They’re especially keen on our food and beverage and retail offerings, with around $18 million spent in those sectors alone last year.”
The airport’s passenger numbers were also boosted over the last six months of 2025 by the return of domestic jet services to the airport for the first time in 25 years.
Air New Zealand introduced a five day a week Airbus A320 service in September and increased it this month to a daily service. Last year Jetstar entered the domestic market out of Hamilton for the first time ever, launching its own daily Hamilton-Christchurch Airbus A320 service in December 2025.
“It means more than half of our passengers now enter or exit our airport on a jet service. That shows the airport has matured and that airlines see Hamilton and the Waikato as a growth market,” Morgan said.
The surge in passenger numbers was a key driver of a $1.4 million increase in revenue for the half year.
Morgan said Waikato Regional Airport Ltd, the umbrella company that owns the airport, Jet Park Hotel, Hamilton & Waikato Tourism and Titanium Park Ltd is on track to deliver its first “modest” profit since 2019, without depending on land sales.
“Let’s not count our chickens, but we certainly hope to end the financial year in a solid financial position driven by aeronautical growth.
“The airport business is a tough one and in the past our diversification strategy, particularly our investment in commercial property holdings has allowed us to strengthen our balance sheet when others couldn’t,” he said.
“The huge growth in our aeronautical business is something we have worked very, very hard for over a long time and it’s great to see results starting to come through.”