National Airways Corporation (NAC) began twice-daily commercial flights between Whangarei and Auckland in 1948 using Lockheed Electra 10-seat aircraft. NAC replaced the Electra in March 1950 with small de Havilland Dominie 6-seat aircraft as the airport was too small to handle the new Lockheed Lodestar. The de Havilland's small size meant it serviced Whangarei with six return flights daily from Auckland. 10,148 people flew to and from Whangarei in 1950. The 06/24 runway was upgraded and sealed in December 1963 to its current length of 1097m, which allowed NAC to commence commercial flights with the much larger DC3s. A new airport terminal was built on the northern side of the main runway to cater for future growth. A new control tower was also built. The larger capacity of the DC3 meant Whangarei was serviced only twice-daily to Auckland, with some flights continuing north onwards to Kaikohe or other Northland airports.