Auckland Airport has completed the first phase of improvements to the international arrivals areas, delivered in partnership with Biosecurity New Zealand and the New Zealand Customs Service.
The upgrade includes a ‘nothing to declare’ express lane supported by detector dog screening, alongside new and expanded back-of-house areas that set up the next stages of work. Eligible travelers are directed through upgraded facilities for biosecurity screening by detector dogs, before exiting into the public arrivals hall.
Travelers with items to declare, or who are not eligible for the express lane, continue to be processed through Biosecurity New Zealand’s dedicated screening lanes.
The improved express lane builds on the risk assessment process first introduced at Auckland Airport in 2023 and is supported by the electronic New Zealand Traveller Declaration. Over the last two years, the median processing time, from entering customs to exiting the arrivals hall, has reduced 49% for travelers, from 28 minutes 47 seconds to just under 15 minutes (data from June 2023 vs June 2025).
Part of the improvement project’s first phase is approximately 1,300m2 of upgraded floor area across the arrivals hall, a new truck dock to improve terminal logistics and new staff security screening facilities. The project enables a second phase of work to further refurbish areas not included in this phase, while maintaining operational capacity.
With N$5.7bn (US$3.3bn) of aeronautical development planned through to 2032, Auckland Airport has launched an interactive virtual model showing the planned upgrades. The platform also includes information on the masterplan out to 2047.