The airport is mostly used for general aviation and was previously served by a number of commuter and regional airlines over the years with passenger flights to Los Angeles (LAX).

[6] Southwest Airways then changed its name to Pacific Air Lines which in 1960 was operating nonstop DC-3 service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

[9] Air West then changed its name to Hughes Airwest which continued to serve the airport with F-27 propjet flights to LAX via Lancaster.

[10] In 1968, Cable Commuter Airlines was operating de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops to LAX in competition with Air West.

Scheduled passenger airline service ended following the cessation of United Express flights operated by SkyWest in November 2013.

However, on October 12, 2017, the Indian Wells Valley Airport District board of directors voted to terminate its contract with Boutique Air following a 60-day notice.

It is a challenging location, as the winds change frequently, but with three long runways pilots generally have a variety of options for launch and landing.

Many well known pilots have flown gliders out of Inyokern, including Neil Armstrong, Paul Bikle, and Steve Fossett.

Movies have also utilized the airport for shooting, including the aviation blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, which used the hangar facility for scenes with Tom Cruise working on a vintage aircraft.