Auckland Airport reports influx of French, UK rugby fans

Auckland Airport numbers show influx of French, UK rugby fans

Oct. 25 (BusinessDesk) - Auckland International Airport reported a 708 percent surge in visitors from France in September as the Rugby World Cup geared up.

The biggest airport in New Zealand handled 8,658 visitors from France in September, up from 1,072 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 Sept. 10.

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

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

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

Domestic aircraft movements rose by 0.9 percent in the same period.

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

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

Queenstown handled 4.5 percent more passengers and 16.7 percent more domestic aircraft.

(BusinessDesk)

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