Aer Arann Islands was established as Aer Arann in 1970 by James Coen, Ralph Langan, and Colie Hernon[2] to provide an island-hopping air service between Galway and the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland.

Aer Arann made a number of short-lived expansions, including summer service along the south and west coasts with a Short Sandringham flying boat from Killaloe in the late 1970s, and commuter service between Shannon and Dublin, and to the UK with Avair, in the 1980s.

[3] In 1994, Aer Arann was acquired by Pádraig Ó Céidigh and Eugene O'Kelly, who expanded it into a regional airline.

As of January 2020[update] the airline is under new ownership with plans to develop and maintain the levels of service to both island communities and visitors.

[7] As of March 2022, Aer Arann Islands operate a fleet of 3 Britten Norman BN-2 aircraft.