Originally built in 1944, the airport was expanded in the early 1970s, and officially opened for jets in January 1974.

In July 2015, three tourists were injured by jet blast after being blown over while watching an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 take off.

[4] An unsealed airstrip at Nikao was originally constructed by the New Zealand Department of Public Works in 1944,[5] with the first flight landing in November 1945.

[7] The issue was forced in 1966, when increased regulation of international flights requiring the use of larger aircraft threatened to cut off air travel entirely.

[16] An $8.5 million reconstruction project commenced in 2009 to revamp and expand the existing terminal facilities.