It is located 2.5 NM (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) southeast of Kirkwall[1] and is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.

Control passed in 1948 to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and in 1986 to Highlands and Islands Airports.

The following Fleet Air Arm units were here at some point:[9] The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Kirkwall: Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water was well under way in late 2020 in Orkney, where clean energy sources (wind, waves, tides) were generating excess electricity that could be used to produce hydrogen gas (H2).

[26] A plan was under way at Kirkwall Airport to add a hydrogen combustion engine system to the heating system in order to reduce the significant emissions that were created with older technology that heated buildings and water.

This was part of the plan formulated by the Scottish government for the Highlands and Islands "to become the world's first net zero aviation region by 2040".