Christchurch International Airport says the number of passengers coming through now is close to what it was a year ago as traffic recovers from the 22 February earthquake.
In the immediate aftermath passenger numbers dropped 35% but last month were just 5% below what they were before the quake.
The airport's chief operating officer, Andy Lester, says international passengers numbers are down just 1.7% compared with January 2011.
This was largely due to a direct flight from Malaysia added in April which has brought an extra 15,000 Malaysian visitors to the city.
Mr Lester says, however, that a shortage of accommodation in the city is affecting tourism.
