In 1993 , the CAA instituted the requirement that all international airports in New Zealand must keep airside departing and arriving passengers separate . Auckland Airport was granted an exemption to this rule , allowing the airside mingling of arriving and departing passengers to continue , on the basis that all international flights operating into Auckland originated from airports with adequate security screening . Following the September 11 attacks and further regulation by the ICAO , the CAA required the airport to physically separate arriving and departing passengers by 2006 . In the interim period until passenger separation was achieved , flights to the USA as well as all Qantas , and for a short time Cathay Pacific , flights were restricted to departing from gates where a secondary X-ray and metal detector inspection was operating . To physically separate arriving and departing passengers , Auckland Airport decided to build a new departure level on top of the existing one , with the existing floor becoming the arrivals level . The existing departure lounges were kept by installing glass walls to separate the waiting areas from the newly designed arrivals corridor , and escalators were installed to transport passengers from the new departures level down to each departure lounge . The modifications to the terminal were completed in December 2005 , and also involved the expansion of retail space within the pier by 600 square metres and an increase in the number of bus gates to four
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Auckland Airport