Forming sometime after the 11th century CE, the Kel Ayr were one of the earlier Tuareg groups to arrive in the Aïr.
Kel Ayr controlled the sedentary populations of the trading and farming centers in Assodé, Agadez, In-Gall, Timia and Iferouane.
The Songhai Empire seized Agadez, Ingall, and centers to the south and west in 1500, but lost control before the end of the century.
The confederation was then under the direct suzerainty of the Anastafidet, lord of the Kel Owey.
Between the 1850s and the 1890s, the Kel Owey and the central Aïr again fell under control of the Key Ayr, and the Ayr again retained control of Agadez, the Kouar oases, and the Azalai salt caravans, which they continue to operate.