Auckland Airport to change security, passport control order for international travellers

International passengers departing Auckland Airport will go through security screening before passport control under a major change to the departure process expected to be fully in place by the end of 2027, The New Zealand Herald has reported.

Auckland Airport is changing the order in which international passengers pass through departure formalities, moving security screening ahead of passport control as part of preparations for its new integrated terminal.

By the end of 2027, all international travellers will first undergo security screening before proceeding to passport control for border processing.

Passengers will still need to complete both security screening and passport checks before departing, and the airport said there would be no change to what travellers are required to do before flying, Herald reported.

Auckland Airport chief operations officer Chloe Surridge told Herald the changes would help prepare the airport for its future operations.

“The changes we’re making through the passport control area will support a future-ready border process,” Surridge said, as quoted by Herald.

“The change will ensure New Zealand’s gateway airport is fit for the future, and it makes sense for this change to happen now, while the new integrated terminal is being built.”

The integrated terminal is expected to open in 2028-29 and is the largest piece of new infrastructure being developed at the airport.

Auckland Airport/Supplied

Construction activity around the security and passport control area is expected to continue in some form until early 2029.

The airport said the new sequence increasingly reflected practices at airports internationally. Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport has also embarked on a similar change, placing security screening before passport control.

Moving the security checkpoint earlier means passengers and their baggage will be screened before entering the secure airside area.

Auckland Airport is working with Customs and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on the change.

Customs assistant comptroller for air operations Craig Chitty said moving security screening earlier in the process would create a safer environment.

“This sequencing is considered international best practice to help support a smoother customer experience," as quoted by Herald.

Chitty said the new arrangement would also provide a clearer separation between security screening and border control functions.

CAA deputy chief executive for aviation security Fred Stein said screening passengers before passport control would strengthen security by allowing prohibited items and potential threats to be identified earlier.

“It reduces the risk of unscreened passengers reaching secure areas and strengthens the layers of security that help keep passengers and New Zealand’s aviation system safe.”

The project will be introduced in stages, meaning passengers may encounter different routes through the departure area while construction is underway.

“At different stages of the transition, you may follow different pathways as you enter the passport control area, depending on where works are underway, but your journey remains familiar,” Surridge said.

Assisted passengers, APEC Business Travel Card holders and diplomatic passengers are already being processed through a new lane within the passport control area.

The changes are also part of Auckland Airport's wider redevelopment, which will eventually bring domestic jet and international travel together under one roof, Herald has reported.