Despite the cost of living crisis, Hunter residents are still finding the time and money for a holiday, with Newcastle Airport nearly back to pre-COVID levels of passengers over the summer season.
The airport's airlines are expecting a surge in flyers, with an additional 5000 of airline seats available in December to help cater for the increase in passenger numbers.
Newcastle Airport marketing general manager Burcak Sezer said it was much busier than last year's festive season, and "very close" to the pre-pandemic number of travellers, which peaked in 2019.
Throughout the year, Brisbane is the top route, followed by Melbourne and the Gold Coast, and the holiday period is no different.
"Brisbane is always the most popular destination due to a combination of visiting family and friends, and leisure," Ms Sezer said.
"This holiday period, we're seeing a big uptick in the number of passengers flying to the Whitsundays and the Sunshine Coast on the Bonza route. We've got an extra two flights that we didn't have last year.
"One of our busiest days of the year is Boxing Day."
The Christmas traffic for the Adelaide route, which runs five times a week, has also continued to increase year-on-year.
"The cost of living is definitely still on people's minds; it could be the case that they're still flying and holidaying for a shorter period of time," Ms Sezer said.
Extra staff at check-in and security are in place during the festive season, but Newcastle Airport recommended passengers plan ahead and arrive at the airport 1.5 hours before their flight departs.
Newcastle Airport aviation general manager Shane de Wit said extra steps had been taken to ensure travelling through Newcastle Airport is easy.
"Customers dropping off or collecting family and friends can park and wait for free for up to two hours in our long stay saver car park," he said.
"It's a great way to avoid driving round and round the loop road. Once your person has collected their bags from the baggage carousel, they can send you a text message to advise they are ready for pick-up."
