It is located on the coast, 2 NM (3.7 km; 2.3 mi)[1] south-west of Bunbeg in Carrickfinn, a townland in The Rosses, a district in north-west County Donegal.

In 1989 the runway was extended to 1,450 m (4,760 ft),[6] with a further extension to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), installation of runway safety areas and a new terminal building with modern navigational aids and equipment occurring in 1992–3 Ryanair added service to London Luton Airport (via Sligo Airport) in June 1990,[7] however this service was suspended in January 1991 due to fuel costs and security concerns relating to the Gulf War and did not resume.

[22] Late 2000s and early 2010s, CityJet operated a Saturday seasonal charter flight to Rotterdam between April and September using a Fokker 50.

[23] Service to Dublin was operated from 2012 to 2015 by Loganair and Flybe using a Saab 340 which rotated via Glasgow to provide aircraft and crew replenishment.

Stobart Air, operating as Aer Lingus Regional, received public service obligation funding from the Irish Government to subsidise the route to Dublin.

[24][25] In July 2021, Amapola Flyg a Swedish regional airline, was awarded the PSO route from Dublin to Donegal, as a temporary measure following the demise of Stobart Air.

[26] In March 2022, Emerald Airlines (on behalf of Aer Lingus Regional) began flights to Dublin operated by an ATR72-600 twice daily.