‘Chaos’ at Auckland Airport as Coldplay fans descend on city; security scanner out of service

An influx of Coldplay and Pearl Jam concertgoers arriving in and departing Auckland, paired with an out-of-action security scanner, caused delays in the Auckland Airport domestic terminal this morning.
And Air New Zealand is warning travellers that due to high demand, this week could be the busiest this year for domestic air passengers.
One passenger described the queue to Stuff as “absolute chaos”, with people queue-jumping and airport staff “chasing people down off of paper lists”.
They said it took them nearly an hour to get through security.
A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson said one security screening lane was temporarily out of service until December 5 – while a new scanning machine was installed – reducing capacity to four lanes. Auckland Airport was also relocating a structural pillar.
CAA said it operated four lanes this morning during the usual morning peak, “but a higher-than-expected number of passengers, partly due to the Coldplay concert, caused delays”.
“The queue began to form around 5.55am and was managed into the ponding area by 7.00am. We are reviewing CCTV footage to assess wait times.”
CAA added that Pearl Jam concerts were held in Auckland over the weekend, contributing to outbound queues at the airport this morning.
“We’re expecting similar queue pressures as a consequence of the Coldplay concert this week/weekend.”
CAA said it worked with Auckland Airport and airlines on queue management, but some interventions “may have contributed to delays”.
It said the maximum queue time was 21 minutes and the queue was at an “acceptable length” just over an hour after it formed.
“To further manage peak demand, we’re extending lane availability, opening the 4th lane from 5am to 7.30am to add capacity and prevent queues.
“We appreciate passengers’ patience during this time.”
Air New Zealand general manager domestic Scott Carr said it was shaping up to be the busiest week of the year for its domestic network.
“[This is] driven by high demand for flights into Auckland for Coldplay’s concerts, as well as it being a peak week for student travel around the country.”
Carr said Air NZ was expecting more than 230,000 customers on its domestic network throughout the week.
“To meet the surge, we’ve added 3550 seats across 22 extra flights in and out of Auckland around the concert dates.”
He said Friday, November 15 was set to be its busiest day across the network, with close to 40,000 customers expected to take to the skies.
Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour is coming to Eden Park in Auckland this week, with the British band set to play three shows at the venue on November 13, 15 and 16.
It will be the first time they’ve performed in New Zealand since 2016. The band made history when they announced a third show on the New Zealand leg of their tour – they’re the first artist or act to play three consecutive shows at Eden Park.
The Herald last week reported domestic flight bookings to Auckland had almost doubled this week as Kiwis flocked to the City of Sails for the three Coldplay concerts.
Bookings to Auckland between November 12 and 16 were up 87% compared to the same week in 2023, according to Webjet data.
The increase in flight and hotel bookings caused by the Coldplay concert indicates the power cultural events can have on tourism, said Webjet Group CEO Katrina Barry.
“The travel buzz in line with Coldplay’s shows highlights the rise of ‘tour tourism,’ as fans embrace concerts as the ultimate excuse for a getaway,” she said.
The band initially announced one show at Eden Park on November 13.
After more than 200,000 people were reported waiting in a digital pre-sale queue the day tickets were released, the band decided to add two additional shows.
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