"Very happy to be in a position where we feel confident enough to restart those markets.
"We wouldn't have been able to do that unless we had the three councils supporting us.
"It's going to be a slow build but, actually, of the three regions, we were very pleased with Kāpiti in terms of forward booking and passengers carried for this week.
"Kāpiti was probably the best performer."
Fourteen passengers were on the first flight out of Kāpiti which was a good number once social distancing requirements were factored in.
"It's definitely good having the aeroplane back in the air."
It would be a slow rebuild, he predicted, but there was cause for optimism when people knew flight operations were back operating and some of the Budget's infrastructure projects started in the regions.
Meanwhile, Airways NZ has announced it was to cease providing an airfield flight information service at Kapiti Coast Airport.
"We don't see a big increase in risk as a result of not having that service there," said Mr Emeny, citing various processes the airline had in place.