Auckland Airport (AKL) has announced the most extensive redevelopment of its departures hall in almost five decades, marking a key step in its wider infrastructure upgrade programme.
The project will see the current check-in hall undergo a four-year transformation into a 13,000m² departures space, designed around digital processes and self-service technology. The new design is intended to reduce queuing, improve passenger flow and prepare the airport for future adoption of biometric systems, such as facial recognition and digital travel authorisation.
Auckland Airport Chief Executive Carrie Hurihanganui said:This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to completely reimagine the check-in experience and ensure New Zealand’s gateway airport is fit for the future.
We’re delivering what travellers now expect from the world’s leading airports – a fast, seamless check-in experience, powered by smart technology and supported by great people.
Alongside expanding the check-in space, we’re introducing a digital overhaul that will smooth the experience for travellers and sets us on the path to adopting future technologies such as biometrics.
It’s a big change and as we prepare for the future, we’re modernising right to the core of our systems.
Throughout the upgrade programme, traditional airline check-in counters will gradually be phased out and replaced by common-use self-service kiosks and automated bag drops. Around 60 conventional desks will be replaced by new digital facilities, with flexibility for multiple airlines to use the same equipment at different times of day.
The first stage of this rollout has already taken place in one check-in zone, where 30 desks were replaced with 36 kiosks and 22 bag drops. Feedback from airlines trialling the system has been incorporated into the wider redevelopment plan.
This shift is in line with international trends at airports such as Singapore Changi, Dubai and London Heathrow, where automation and shared-use facilities have become standard.
The transition also reflects growing traveller preferences. Industry surveys indicate that more than three-quarters of passengers would consider using digital passports and wallets on their smartphones, with adoption rates even higher among younger travellers. For airlines, this technology supports automated document checks and reduces the risk of ineligible passengers reaching the gate.
Once complete, the redeveloped departures area will also integrate the new domestic jet terminal, currently under construction. This will bring domestic jet and international travellers under one roof for the first time since the 1970s.
At present, 27 airlines operate from Auckland’s international terminal, serving 42 destinations worldwide. Once the domestic terminal opens, jet flights to New Zealand cities will use the same upgraded departures facilities.
