History
The airport was initially a grass airstrip created in the early 1930s (or possibly earlier). During World War II, the airport was taken over by the Defence Department, where it was used for Royal New Zealand Air Force training. After the war ended, it was once again run by local government.
In 1972, Mount Cook Airlines decided to use the airport to connect to tourist resorts. The service failed through lack of patronage. A Kerikeri-Auckland route was started by the airline but was not widely used. It was not until 1992, after the transfer of the airport to Northern Airports Corporation (now merged into Far North Holdings Ltd), that Eagle Airways (a subsidiary of Air New Zealand) took over scheduled service and use of the route increased. Eagle Airways operates Beechcraft 1900Ds, while Air Nelson (another Air New Zealand subsidiary) provides service with Bombardier Dash 8s.
Read more about this topic: Kerikeri Airport
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