At the conclusion of the Italo-Turkish War in 1912 with the Treaty of Lausanne the Ottoman Empire ceded control of Libya to Italy. The Italians then established administrative regions, with Italian Triolitania in the northwest.

While there are scant records of the establishment of an airport in Benghazi / Benina, Italy began expanding infrastructure and their new colony, including railroads during the 1910s - 1920s. In order to support various military campaigns, the Italian Corpo Aeronautico Miltare (Military Aviation Corps) built various facilities to extend control, including the Benina airport on the outskirts of Benghazi. The aviation facilities included airfields, landing grounds and emergency landing grounds. Many of these facilities were only open plots of desert land with markers and minimal or no structures, often utilizing tents for shelter. The Luftwaffe took a special interest in Benina, receiving the most improvements out of all of the facilities in Libya.

The airport was on the Imperial Line of the Italian national airline Ala Littoria between 1935 and 1941.

During the Second Italio-Abyssian War, the Italians were reported to have used Benina to store sulphur mustard chemical weapons, later found by the British.

World War II

During World War II the Italian Regia Aeronatica (successor to the Corpo Aeronautico Miltare) used Benina as a base. By 1941, the airbase had a single 1100 m x 230 m firm clay runway, and it was equipped for night landings. There were nine underground and eight above ground fuel tanks, with a fuel dump 8 km outside of the base as well as a munitions dump. There were administrative buildings, officer quarters and 34 huts for ground personnel. There was also a satellite field (Benina South) 1.5 km south of the main base, with a 1680 m x 1110 m clay surface runway.

List of Italian Units:

7º Gruppo Comb (Sep-Nov 40)

10º Gruppo CT (Jun 40)

12º Gruppo Assalto (Jun, Dec 40)

16º Gruppo Assalto (Dec 40); 17º Gruppo CT (Nov 41)

30º Gruppo BT (Jun-Jul 40)

32º Gruppo BT (Jun 40)

33º Gruppo BT (Aug-Sep, Dec 40)

35º Gruppo BT (Sep-Oct 40)

36º Gruppo BT (Sep-Oct 40)

46º Gruppo BT (Jun 40)

47º Gruppo BT (Jun 40)

52º Gruppo BT (Dec 40)

53º Gruppo BT (Dec 40)

54º Gruppo Autonomo BT (Dec 40);

59º Gruppo BT (Oct 40 – Apr 41?)

60º Gruppo BT (Oct 40 – Apr 41?)

67º Gruppo OA (Sep 40)

Italian aircraft at the base included SM.79 medium bombers, CR.32 biplanes and SM.81 transport/bombers.

As the German military became more involved in the North African Campaign, the Luftwaffe had more of a presence at Benina. They made general improvements to the field and based multiple different units and aircraft at the field.

List of German Units:

detachment of 2.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. 123 (Mar-Jun 41)

III./LG 1 (MayJun, Nov-Dec 41)

elements of KG z.b.V. 172 (May 41)

III./ZG 26 (Sep 41)

10./KG z.b.V. 1 (Sep, Nov-Dec 41)

Stab/LG 1 (Nov 41)

I./LG 1 (Nov 41)

II./LG 1 (Nov 41)

II./St.G. 2 (Nov 41)

I./St.G. 3 (Nov 41)

8./JG 53 (Dec 41)

1. St. of I./St.G. 1 (Oct-Dec 41)

part of Stabsstaffel Fliegerführer Afrika (Dec 41)

detachment of I./NJG 2 (Dec 41, 1942)

1.(F)/Aufkl.Gr. 121 (Jan-Feb 42)

12.(Einsatz-)/LG 1 (Jan-Feb 42)

I./JG 27 (Feb 42)

II./JG 27 (Feb 42)

II./JG 27 (Feb 42)

German aircraft stationed at the base included Ju 52 transports, Ju 88 bombers, Bf 110 fighters and Bf 109 fighters.

During the North African campaign, control of the area see-sawed between Axis and Allied forces until the British finally captured the entire Benghazi area for good at the end of 1942. When Marshall Tedder visited Benina in January 1942 during a brief period of British control, he witnessed "...an extraordinary sight, littered with aircraft...in all stages of repair and disrepair...deliberately demolished...others equally knocked out by our bombing and low shoot-ups". The British SAS made attacks in the Benghazi area (Operation Bigamy), including at Benina, reportedly destroying several aircraft. However, other reports indicate these raids were a failure, and that the Germans may have sabotaged the aircraft.

After the Allies successful pushed the Axis forces out of western Libya, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force began to use the airport. They arrived in February 1943, with the IX Bomber Command flying their first mission that same month against Naples. As part of the IX Bomber Command, the 376th Bombardment Group was stationed at Benina. This group was equipped with B-24 Liberator bombers. It participated in Operation Tidal Wave, the US attack on the Ploesti oil refineries in August 1943.

Italian Arditi paratroopers made an airborne attack that destroyed some Allied aircraft in June 1943.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) established the No. 351 Squadron and No. 352 Squadron at Benina in 1944. These units were the first all Yugoslav-crewed fighter unit to be formed in Africa, and flew Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfire fighters before transferring other theatres in the Fall of 1944.

Once the combat units moved west, Benina was used as a logistics hub by Air Transport Command.