The airport was the site of the Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 accident, which killed Samantha Smith, who gained global notoriety following her correspondence with Soviet leader Yuri Andropov during the Cold War.

During World War II, the airfield was under the control of the United States Navy for use as a base for anti-submarine patrols by Squadron VS-31.

Naval operations ceased on 1 December 1945,[3] and the site was declared a surplus in 1946 and handed returned to the cities of Auburn and Lewiston in 1947 and 1948.

[2] In the year ending August 19, 2020, the airport had 50,000 aircraft operations, average 137 per day: 72% general aviation, 28% air taxi, and <1% military.

A subsequent investigation determined that the crash was due to a combination of factors, including weather conditions, incorrect altimeter settings, and pilot error.