Scandinavian Airlines offer weekly direct flights from Lakselv to Oslo, in addition to seasonal international charter services.

During the German occupation of Norway in World War II, it was taken over by the Luftwaffe in 1940, who expanded it and laid down two wooden runways.

Despite a Norwegian neutrality policy, there was fear that Norway could be occupied by foreign powers who wanted to take advantage of the country's strategic position.

They were planning an attack on the Soviet Union from Finnmark and decided to designate Banak as their main air base in Northern Norway.

[9] Norway's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 had a dramatic effect on military strategy and Banak.

[15] NATO supported a reconstruction of Banak, partially due to an increased focus on flanking maneuver strategies,[16] and also to serve as a part of the nuclear program.

[17] NATO was ready to provide funding in 1957, but the Norwegian authorities wanted to delay its construction,[18] citing lack of personnel to man the station and that it would not be usable in times of war.

[19] The government decided in 1957 to not allow nuclear warheads to be stored in Norway during peacetime, thus eliminating NATO's strategic need for Banak.

[20] By 1959 the United States was concerned that the militarization of the Kola Peninsula would become the prime point of a Soviet attack on North America.

[25] Construction was estimated at NOK 8.9 million, which would include a 2,000-meter (6,600 ft) runway, but lack of funding meant the airport would not meet all of NATO's air base standards.

[31] To allow increased military use of the air station, the airport received an upgrade in 1967 and 1968 costing NOK 17.8 million.

[27] Following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Norway decided to further strengthen the Finnmark defenses, which among many measures included a further extension of the runway at Banak.

[31] The 330 Squadron, which operates the Westland Sea King search and rescue helicopters, was established at Banak Air Station in 1973.

[31] SAS Commuter was established in 1988 and started operations in Northern Norway in May 1990, making Alta its central hub for Finnmark.

[34] Lakselv Airport had been proposed by among others Finnmark County Council as the hub, but SAS and other found Alta better suited.

[37] The Civil Aviation Administration followed up by investing NOK 21 million, expanding the terminal to allow international passengers, and Stolt Seafarm started the export of fish via the airport.

[38] From 1997, LTU started charter services from Düsseldorf to Lakselv,[39] and Condor operated flights from Barcelona.

[40] In June 2001, Finnair started a scheduled service from Lakselv via Rovaniemi to Helsinki three times a week.

[45] SAS Braathens introduced low-frequency summer services from Oslo beginning in 2006, which lasted for three seasons.

[2] Danish Air Transport had been the main airline operating at Banak, with daily flights to Tromsø from 1 April 2012.

[33] The air station is regularly visited by the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon for use in the shooting range at Halkavarre.