Passenger arrival numbers for 2019 reflect a very busy year at the frontline for officials working to secure our borders from biosecurity threats.

It’s not surprising to find it was a record-breaking year. Officers processed 7.02 million passengers – the first time arrivals to New Zealand have passed the 7 million mark. Early numbers suggest another busy summer season at our international airports, although passenger arrivals are clearly dropping as a result of the coronavirus and subsequent travel restrictions.

Officers cleared just over 700,000 air passengers during December, an increase of 1.6% on December 2018. The busiest day for Auckland Airport was 20 December, which saw the arrival of 20,218 travellers.