Scheduled services are provided domestically to Oslo by Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and to Bergen, Stord and Trondheim by Widerøe.

Proposals for an airport serving Molde were discussed from 1940, but the neighboring towns of Ålesund and Kristiansund were ultimately prioritized.

Following the German occupation of Norway, Luftwaffe was interested in building an airfield to cover the county of Møre og Romsdal.

[4] West Norway Airlines established a seaplane route from Bergen via Ålesund, Molde and Kristiansund to Trondheim in 1950.

Led by merchant Petter Pettersson, it proposed the construction of a 1,250-meter (4,100 ft) runway, allowing it to handle Braathens SAFE's Fokker F-27 Friendships.

This required trial landings, but due to limited capacity these were not conducted by the Civil Aviation Administration until October 1961.

[7] The state commission considered several locations which could serve Molde and Kristiansund, either jointly or by building two airports.

Only Årø and Kvernberget in Kristiansund were found suitable, with pivoting emphasis laid on their vicinity to their respective town centers.

The municipal administration started working on plans and on 26 April 1966 Braathens SAFE confirmed that the airline was willing to connect Molde to Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen.

Årø was aided in 1968 when the Civil Aviation Administration altered the priority of the airports, placing Molde at the top.

The municipality secured a loan from Kommunal Landspensjonskasse and applied the Ministry of Transport and Communications in 1969 for permission to start construction.

The same day Braathens SAFE opened a ticket office at Godtfred Lies plass in downtown Molde.

[21] The 1972 summer routes involved three daily services to Oslo Airport, Fornebu, including one with a stop-over in Ålesund.

In cases when Ålesund Airport, Vigra was closed, Braathens would land their larger 124-seat Boeing 737-200s at Årø, making the terminal feel cramped.

[24] Construction of oil platforms was carried out in Åndalsnes during the 1970s, leadingto frequent use of the airport by business jets.

To bypass two ferry rides, a seaplane base was built at Årø to allow for connecting flights to the yard.

[25] Increased ridership caused Braathens SAFE to replace all its F-27 turboprops with larger F-28 turbojets out of Molde from 1 June 1976.

[27] Meanwhile, a court case was raised by thirty-four neighbors who demanded compensation due to noise pollution.

SAS chose initially to not take up the competition with Braathens out of Molde, and the only immediate effect was a slight hike in ticket prices.

[43] An air show was held at the airport on 30 June 1996, but it proved a failure due to overcast weather.

Passengers without check-in baggage had previously been able to meet at the airport five to ten minutes before boarding time and reach their aircraft.

Chartered aircraft with players and supporters attending games at Molde stadion normally constituted the bulk of international passengers at the airport in these years.

They flew up to two daily charter flights to Gdańsk as well as weekly services to Inverness, Newcastle, Billund, Bergen, Stord and Stavanger.

SAS Braathens had by then increased to five daily flights to Oslo and reached a load factor of ninety percent.

[52] Work on the extension of the runway started on 31 January 2007, involving the moving of 700,000 cubic meters (25,000,000 cu ft) of earthwork.

SAS Commuter terminated its West Coast operations in June 2010 and transferred these to Widerøe, who introduced 50- and 74-seat Bombardier Dash 8-300s and -400, respectively.

[65] Wizz Air introduced two weekly flights from Gdańsk Airport to Molde starting 30 March 2015.

The operations building measures 2,600 square meters (28,000 sq ft) and consists of offices, the fire station, garages and workshops.

[69] The busiest route out of Molde are services to Oslo, which are flown by Norwegian Air Shuttle, with three daily round trips using Boeing 737s.

[56] Regional carrier Widerøe flies multiple daily trips to Trondheim and Bergen, using Bombardier Dash 8s.