The island of Sylt was a famous destination for leisure and holidays in the early 20th century. Sylt's first small airport was established right after World War I, and in 1919 the first scheduled routes to Weimar, Hamburg and Berlin began. As Germany had lost the mainland port serving Sylt due to the Treaty of Versailles, the airport became an important way for travelers to avoid entering Denmark before the construction of the Hindenburgdamm, a causeway linking Sylt to mainland Germany by railway.

During World War II, the airport was significantly redeveloped and enlarged to serve as a military base. After the war, it became RAF Sylt and was used for weapons and other training until closure in late 1961. In the 1960s, leisure traffic returned, further developing from the 1970s onwards.

In 1990, Sylt Airport received new technical equipment as well as new passenger facilities. Today it is capable of handling medium-sized aircraft such as the Boeing 737.

In June 2015, Lufthansa CityLine announced the expansion of their services to Sylt: instead of being seasonal, flights from Frankfurt and Munich are now operated year-round. easyJet announced in April 2019 that they would launch weekly flights throughout the summer season to their base in Berlin.