Auckland International Airport handled fewer passengers in June than a year earlier and this will reinforce investor concerns about a sluggish recovery in traffic, says Citi. Auckland International Airport said domestic and international traffic fell around 4-5% on year, and are running 13-16% below pre-pandemic levels. "Rising Middle East tensions and elevated oil prices threaten further capacity cuts in first-half FY27, posing downside risks to consensus FY27 passenger forecasts and earnings," analyst Suraj Nebhani says. Weak traffic pressures other high-margin revenue streams, including retail and car parking. "Consequently, we see near-term downside to the share price heading into the August results and retain our neutral rating," Citi says. Still, it's upbeat about the medium-term outlook. Auckland International Airport is down 0.1% at NZ$8.56 today. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 23, 2026 18:43 ET (22:43 GMT)

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