The airport is also the home base of the KLM Flight Academy, Noord Nederlandse Aero Club (NNAC) and General Enterprises.

[3] On 13 July 1928 the community's council agreed on a proposal to allocate the 'Hakenkampsveld', a 12 hectare terrain within the municipality of Eelde, as an airport.

During the German retreat, a member of the local resistance, W.W. Krijthe, prevented the airport from being blown up, by cutting the explosives' ignition wires.

The national government shouldered most of the cost of restoring the damaged drainage system in the airfield.

The government subsidized further developments at the airport so that it could meet international standards and remain registered for aviation.

On 16 August 1954 the Rijksluchtvaartschool (RLS) – or National Aviation Academy in English – moved to the airport from Gilze-Rijen.

[6] The official opening of the airport building complex took place the following year on 15 May, by Prince Bernard.

Twelve passengers boarded the aircraft, making a trip to Mallorca for a fourteen-day vacation.

The airfield was seen to have the potential to operate usefully as a regional airport and to play a role in the infrastructure of the northern part of the Netherlands.

Adding to this, a bus link to the city of Groningen was established, improving the airport's accessibility.

In the same year, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment published the Structural Plan for Civil Aerodromes.

With the airport becoming more crowded due to holiday flights, it was decided to join the two existing passenger halls together.

Groningen Airport Eelde received a sum of 2.5 million guilders for a new passage hall.

This sum was donated by the European support fund ISP, which was granted by the province of Drenthe.

On 12 November 1999 the government agreed with the proposal to extend the runway, provided that the flying of training circuits by large aircraft be terminated.

[10] In June 2014, UK low-cost carrier Flybe commenced a new year-round service to London-Southend.

[12] In November 2018, Nordica announced it would close its base in Groningen by December, shutting down the year-round routes to Copenhagen and Munich as well as seasonal services to Ibiza and Nice.

[13] On 4 March 2019, flights to Copenhagen resumed, now carried out by AIS Airlines with 19-seat BAe Jetstream 32 aircraft.