In 1943, H.F. Wattenbarger purchased the property for use as a farm, but that same year, he began leasing the airport for wartime training of 300 Army Air Cadets.

In 1978, it was transferred to the ownership of Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, its current owner and operator.

[5] Knoxville Downtown Island Airport covers an area of 200 acres (81 ha) at an elevation of 833 feet (254 m) above mean sea level.

[1] For the 12 month ending July 28, 2022, the airport had 76,700 aircraft operations, an average of 210 per day: 99% general aviation, <1% air taxi, and <1% military.

The tower was in service during World War II but, in later years, was staffed only during times of expected high traffic, such as Saturday UT football games in nearby Neyland Stadium.