1920s–1930s

Groningen Airport Eelde's (GAE) history can be traced back to 1927, when Hayo Hindriks, an ex-alderman of the municipality Eelde, approached KLM (without informing the community's council). He knew that the KLM would be interested in an air link between Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Groningen.

On 13 July 1928 the community's council agreed on a proposal to allocate the 'Hakenkampsveld', a 12 hectare terrain within the municipality of Eelde, as an airport. The airport was officially opened by mayor Jan Gerard Legro on 23 May 1931. 40,000 visitors watched the air show, which was held to celebrate the opening. On 15 August that year the first scheduled service between Eelde and Amsterdam/Schiphol started, which did not appear to be viable.

In 1933, the airport's name was changed to " NV Luchthaven Eelde". Stockholders were the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, the municipalities of Groningen, Eelde and Assen and the Chambers of Commerce and Factories for Groningen, Drenthe and the peat-colonies. Now there was money to expand the airport. At that time the airport's area covered 12 hectares. A new service between the airport and Amsterdam/Schiphol was set up.

1940s: During and after World War II

During World War II, between 1940 and 1945, the airport was occupied by the German military. However, its hangars were completely destroyed by Dutch soldiers on their retreat. The occupation was a severe blow to the airport's promising expectations, but the airport played an important role in the war. During the occupation, the airport was considerably expanded by the Germans. Many hangars were built and the apron was expanded to accommodate fighter aircraft.

In early 1945, the Germans abandoned their "Fliegerhorst". During the German retreat, a member of the local resistance, W.W. Krijthe, prevented the airport from being blown up, by cutting the explosives' ignition wires. In the summer of 1945 Canadian soldiers used the airport to store vehicles of the 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division. The Canadians called the site "Finitocamp".

The airfield returned to NV Luchtvaartterrein Noord-Nederland. The national government shouldered most of the cost of restoring the damaged drainage system in the airfield. The government subsidized further developments at the airport so that it could meet international standards and remain registered for aviation.

The airport was appointed as an alternative airport for flights bound for Amsterdam/Schiphol in 1948. To cater for these deviating aircraft, a new base plan had to be designed for the levelling and drainage of the runways (with an 1,800 metres long main runway and a secondary runway measuring 1,500 metres), taxiways and apron. The new runways were finally ready for service in 1953, making the site an official aerodrome.

1950s

On 16 August 1954 the Rijksluchtvaartschool (RLS) – or National Aviation Academy in English – moved to the airport from Gilze-Rijen. The KLM would acquire ownership of the RLS in 1991, becoming the KLM Flight Academy. In the course of the next two years after 1954, a flight theory school, the secondary and final flight education as well as other branches transferred to Eelde, making the airport an important aviation training site.

In 1956, the airport was renamed as "Luchthaven Eelde NV". The official opening of the airport building complex took place the following year on 15 May, by Prince Bernard.

The first landing of a European aeroplane took place on 13 July 1958. Twelve passengers boarded the aircraft, making a trip to Mallorca for a fourteen-day vacation. In the same year, a new air traffic control tower was put into use.

1960s–1970s

During the 1960s, scheduled services were restored, initially, national flights operated by NLM. The airfield was seen to have the potential to operate usefully as a regional airport and to play a role in the infrastructure of the northern part of the Netherlands. The Study Committee for the Development of Eelde Airport was established. The committee suggested taking a closer look at regional airports in other countries and seeing how they had developed. Eelde Airport seemed to be a key part of a larger system of infrastructure in the region. Another finding was that aircraft noise was a bigger problem at Eelde than at similar airports. Therefore, a noise pollution committee was established.

In 1977, a new passenger terminal opened and more parking space for cars was constructed. Adding to this, a bus link to the city of Groningen was established, improving the airport's accessibility. Work started to expand the apron and add a hangar. In the same year, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment published the Structural Plan for Civil Aerodromes. This plan stated that an expansion of the main runway by 500 metres should be undertaken. This would make flights of all aircraft types possible.

1980s–1990s

From 1979 to 1982, the buildings housing the State Aviation Service (Rijksluchtvaartdienst) and the meteorological service were modernised.