Wellington International Airport has made a first half loss of $7.2 million.
Wellington International Airport. Photo: WIAL
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But the bottomline for the six months to September, included a $38 million payment to its two shareholders.
The airport, which is owned by Infratil and the Wellington City Council, had taken a small financial hit because of new, lower airport charges and a small drop in domestic passenger numbers.
But the airport chair Tim Brown said it had a solid first six months and domestic passenger numbers were expected to increase.
He said international passengers were already on the rise and would be further boosted by a new Jetstar service to the Gold Coast, due to start in a few weeks.
"That was really a critical moment for the airport because this was the first international airliner that the airport has attracted in over a decade."