The airport was opened for commercial business on 14 May 2022, with Turkish Airlines, soon followed on the same day with AJet.

On 3 July 2022, Pegasus Airlines also began operating to the airport.

The airport is situated off the coast of Yeşilköy village in Pazar district of Rize Province.

[3] It was constructed on ground obtained through filling a part of the Black Sea shore by rocks brought from nearby quarries in Merdivenli, Hisarlı, Kanlımezra and Kuzeyce.

To fill up to 30 m (98 ft)-deep sea,[3] at least 85 million tons of rock was required.