The airport has bounced back strongly from the Covid-19 restrictions and after a busy winter thanks to a bumper ski season, passenger numbers through the airport are higher than they were before the pandemic.
Queenstown Airport chief operating officer Todd Grace said the airport was looking at a couple of busy weeks over the Christmas period.
"While everyone else is winding down for the holidays, we are gearing up for a couple of big weeks.
"The busiest period will be around New Year, when about 9000 passengers a day will arrive and depart through Queenstown Airport.
"At this time of the year, we advise people to take a leisurely approach and arrive at the airport earlier than usual to ensure a stress-free trip."
On Monday, the airport reintroduced its Brookes Rd car park where a free shuttle transfers passengers to and from the airport.
The free parking zone at the airport has been expanded to 20 minutes from 10 minutes.
The airport was closed to overseas flights for two years because of Covid-19, but numbers have rapidly increased since the middle of the year.
Qantas was the first to return from overseas in May, and has since been joined by Air New Zealand, Jetstar and Virgin Australia.
In October, 186,403 passengers travelled through the airport — an increase of more than 3000 passengers compared with October 2019.
There are expected to be more than 50,000 passengers arriving and departing Queenstown airport in the week leading up to Christmas.
In a statement yesterday, Air New Zealand said it expected to fly 2.8 million customers around New Zealand over December and January.
It urged passengers to plan ahead and expect delays.
Shortages and sickness will coincide with what will be an extraordinarily busy time to fly.
The airline’s busiest day of the year will be December 23, with more than 55,000 customers heading away on their holiday break.
This was up from 31,000 last year — a 77% increase.
