Constructed by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in July 1939 using equipment from Whenuapai,[2] Paraparaumu was made available as an "Emergency Airport" by the government.

The then-grass Rongotai Airport in Wellington was closed for safety reasons from 27 September 1947 until 1959,[3] as the surface often became unusable during winter months.

National Airways Corporation was forced to move to Paraparaumu Airport, 35 miles from Wellington, causing a one-third drop in Cook Strait passengers for NAC in a single year, due to the isolation.

At that time, the secondary runway (11/29) was 1239 m x 30 m. Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.

From 1952 to 1957, Wellington unusually had two domestic airports: NAC running Herons from Rongotai (which CAA had agreed to reopen on strict conditions), mainly to Blenheim and Nelson, and to Rotorua via Napier, with everything else from Paraparaumu.

Many of Wellington's more affluent professionals and business people live at Paraparaumu and tolerate the hour-long commute for the lifestyle offered.

On 29 March 2018, Air Chathams expressed an interest in starting up services to Auckland from Paraparaumu with one of its Saab 340, but the aircraft has potential performance restrictions that could cause disruptions with passenger off-loading.

[8] On 2 July 2018, Air Chathams announced they would begin services to the Kāpiti Coast starting from 20 August 2018, offering 36 flights per week using the Saab 340.

Kapiti Coast Airport is easily accessible through the nearby Kāpiti Expressway, located on State Highway 1 between Wellington and Levin.