Your questions answered

If you have question about baggage allowance, lost luggage or excess baggage charges please contact your airline directly. 

You may bring the following goods into New Zealand free of duty:  

• Goods obtained overseas and/or purchased duty free in New Zealand with a total combined value up to NZ$700 (excluding clothing, toiletries and jewellery intended for your own personal use and not for gift, sale, or exchange).  
• If you are 17 years of age or over you may also bring in: 
• 3 bottles or containers, each containing not more than 1125ml, of spirits, liqueur, or other spirituous beverages AND  
• 4.5 litres of wine or beer (i.e. six 750ml bottles) AND 
• 50 cigarettes OR 50g tobacco OR 50 cigars OR a mixture of all three not weighing more than 50g.  

Note: You have to be 17 years or older to claim the alcohol and tobacco concessions. You have to be 18 years or older to buy these items in New Zealand. 

You will need to pay full Customs charges on goods which are not eligible for concession or are over the above allowances.  

To understand your duty free allowances of what you may bring into New Zealand, please check here New Zealand Customs Service website

In summary, you may bring in $1,000 (NZD) worth of goods free of duty and GST under the Low Value Goods (LVG) threshold. Customs will collect duty and/or GST on goods with a value over $1,000, or multiple goods with a combined value of over $1,000. The exception to this may be alcohol, tobacco products or forfeit goods.

Free of duty, you can bring in clothing and items considered to be your personal effects. The definition of personal effects is an international one, which defines personal effects as “all articles (new or used) which a traveller may reasonably require for their personal use during the journey.”

For Customs purposes, this covers all personal items worn on or about the body - clothing, footwear, headgear, glasses, handbags, hearing aids, jewellery, wallets and watches, mobile phones devices, laptops for your personal use. It also covers medical appliances, toiletries, perfumery and cosmetics, hair care accessories and personal items you would consider necessary on your trip.

New Zealand is an island nation, which means there are very strict biosecurity procedures to stop the introduction of harmful pests and diseases from overseas. You must declare ALL risk goods or dispose of them in marked amnesty bins. If you're unsure about any item, declare it. Find out more here or visit the Biosecurity New Zealand website.

Items that have been lost and found at the airport are stored with our Airport Services team. They are open 9.30am - 4:30pm Monday to Friday. Please submit a lost property form.

If you’ve misplaced something while on a flight, please contact your airline directly. You can find contact details for all airlines here. 

Yes – you can store luggage, sport equipment, packed bicycles and travel related items at Relay.

If you need information about Customs formalities when you arrive or depart New Zealand, please visit the New Zealand Customs website.

Christchurch Airport has a clear air policy. For everyone's comfort, smoking – including e-cigarettes, vaping and similar products – is not permitted in the terminal or plaza area, but only in designated spaces. We have two designated areas outside the terminal building where you can smoke or vape.

The terminal currently opens at 3am each day and closes after the final scheduled flight.

If you have a query about the terminal's operating hours, please call +64 3 353 7777

There are no sleeping facilities at the airport terminal.

There’s a number of hotels and motels near the airport. Your closest hotel is Novotel, located right outside International Arrivals. Sudima Airport Hotel is located five minutes’ walk from the terminal and LyLo offers affordable accommodation just ten minutes’ walk from the terminal.

If you’re travelling with a pet you’ll need to ensure it’s in a crate or cage before you enter the airport, and at all times in the terminal. Guide dogs are permitted.

Find out more about travelling with pets on the Air New Zealand website, or for more information about transporting pets please contact your airline.

In response to international Civil Aviation requirements, like airports the world over, we no longer have an external viewing deck. However, there are tables with a view over the airfield in South Bar and Café on Level One next to Domestic Arrivals. 

If you have a question about visa requirements, including transit visas, for visiting New Zealand please visit the Immigration New Zealand website.

If you’re travelling on an international flight you can only carry a restricted amount of liquids, aerosols and gel like substances. Find out more here or visit the Aviation Security Service website.

If you’re interested in advertising in or around Christchurch Airport please contact JCDecaux.

We are unable to look after personal items such as car keys or house keys. Please make your own arrangements for collection of your items.

View our airport maps for the location of all toilets, including those with baby change facilities, showers, mobility access and all gender toilets. Alternatively visit a friendly Airport Ambassador at one of our information desks and they will help you with directions.