Urgent maintenance work has been completed on the Mitiaro airstrip in the Cook Islands to allow Air Rarotonga to maintain its flights to the island.
Over the past two weeks Air Rarotonga cut back its three flights per week to two, while the maintenance was undertaken.
Air Rarotonga's managing director, Ewan Smith, says maintenance work was needed because the soft coral airstrip had become severely rutted over the past year or so.
Mr Smith says outer island airstrips often have to have maintenance work carried out periodically, but the lack of equipment and machinery on some islands becomes an issue.
