The airport is named after Karel Satsuit Tubun (1928–1965), who is a National Hero of Indonesia.

The airport serves as the point of entry to Kai Islands, which contains many tourist spots such as unspoiled beaches.

The airport was inaugurated by former Minister of Transportation, Ignasius Jonan on Friday 19 December 2014.

[2] The airport began operation on Monday, 24 February 2014, characterized by first landing aircraft of the airline Trigana Air.

The airport resides at an elevation of 24 metres (79 ft) above mean sea level.