It is served by Widerøe who operate Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft to Kirkenes and other communities in Finnmark.

The airport was abandoned in 1944 but reopened by the Norwegian Armed Forces for military passenger flights.

Svartnes was constructed by the Luftwaffe during the German occupation of Norway during World War II.

The Royal Norwegian Air Force served the airport with de Havilland Canada Twin Otter and Shorts Skyvan aircraft to transport military personnel.

It considered seven locations in Finnmark, including Vardø and recommended in its report that planning continue.

Simultaneously the Ministry of Transport and Communications was working on a plan for larger short take-off and landing airports.

It decided that such airports will first be built in Helgeland, then Lofoten and Vesterålen and finally in Troms and Finnmark.

[11] Norving started operating irregular air taxi flights to Vardø after they took delivery of an eight-seat Britten-Norman Islander in April 1970.

[7] From 1996, Svartnes and 25 other regional airports were taken over by the state and the Civil Aviation Administration (later renamed Avinor).

In 2015 Avinor stated that closing Vardø would give least passenger trouble related to the financial support in the country, but that no decision on it would be made before 2019.

[18] Because of lack of available aircraft for purchase, before 2030 all short airports must be extended, closed or be flown with very small planes.

[22] On 5 March 1978 a Partenavia P.68 LN-MAD operated by Norving Airlines crashed at Falkefjell during approach to Vadsø Airport.