Construction of a new terminal at booming Bay of Islands airport near Kerikeri is expected to start in April.
The airport's owner and operator, council-owned company Far North Holdings, hopes the multi-million dollar project will be finished by December, in time for the next tourism season.
A bigger and more modern terminal has been in the pipeline for several years but a 30 per cent in passenger numbers since Air New Zealand started flying larger aircraft on the Auckland-Kerikeri route has given it more urgency.
In the past financial year, to June 30, 2017, a record 98,844 people flew in or out of Kerikeri.
![Artist's impression of the new terminal at Bay of Islands Airport. Image / Supplied](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/WYJEMJUKX2VWTR4RCQK6VC4ANQ.jpg?auth=f6a539542fcf4233c5d285baf45356b31ac7cae11209b8dcb2734557fe1de7fd&width=16&height=9&quality=70&smart=true)