Queenstown Airport Corporation’s interim results reflect the turbulence which Covid-19 and border closures have had on the business and region.

Net profit for the six months to December plunged 80 per cent to $2.2 million, compared to $10.8m in the previous year.

Passenger arrivals and departures fell 46 per cent and there were no international passenger or aircraft movements.

Domestic passenger numbers fell 19 per cent, commercial general aviation – fixed wing and helicopter – landings were down 9 per cent, and private jet landings slipped 22 per cent.

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As a result, revenue shrank to $13.5m, 53 per cent lower than the same period in 2019.

Company chairwoman Adrienne Young-Cooper said the focus for the rest of the financial year was to stabilise the business and navigate the uncertainty ahead.

Survey ‘clear and emphatic’ in opposition to airport plans [Otago Daily Times, 12/02/21]

“It goes without saying that this has been an incredibly challenging period and operating conditions have been tough,” she said.

“Our primary objective in response to the Covid-19 pandemic is to safeguard the company’s core capability to operate vital airport infrastructure in the district and to support the operators at both Queenstown and Wānaka airports wherever possible.”

To cut costs, operating spending was cut by 48 per cent to $4.5m and a rent relief package provided tenants with $2.1m in support over the second half of the year.

The company had also gone through an organisational restructure, cutting about 22 of its 68 permanent staff.

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Auckland Airport half year profit plunges 80 per cent [NZH, 18/02/21]