Auckland International Airport will raise $NZ1.4 billion ($1.3 billion) from shareholders to kickstart major upgrades, inflaming a war with airlines angry that the increased fees necessary to pay for it could hurt demand.

Auckland Airport said it signed a building works contract for the domestic terminal, bringing forward and upsizing its equity raising plans, after initially estimating it would raise $NZ1 billion to $NZ1.3 billion. The airport has previously signalled it will invest $NZ6.6 billion to overhaul both domestic and international terminals.