[5] The airport was previously made up of two bunkers/buildings near the Bhuj Rudra Mata Air Force Base, with which it shares the runway.

[6][7] The airstrip was destroyed in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, in air strikes in which Pakistani bombers dropped napalm bombs.

He and his 2 officers with 50 air force and 60 DSC personnel did a great job of keeping airbase operational despite sustaining very heavy Pakistani bombing.

[12] In 2005, then Member of Parliament from Kutch, Pushpdan Gadhavi, as well as Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, made a request to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to rename the airport after revolutionary freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma.

Then Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel turned down the request, stating that foreigners might not be able to find the airport if it was named after someone.

[16][13] The original ATC tower was destroyed in the earthquake and an ad hoc terminal was set up for rescue operations.