Built in 1942 by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Belgaum Airport is the third oldest airport in Karnataka. The RAF used the airport as a training site during World War II, providing support to the South East Asia Command. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) took control of the airport in 1956, followed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 1962. During the 1990s, Belgaum Airport was served by East-West Airlines, Gujarat Airways, Indian Airlines, NEPC Airlines and Vayudoot. All airlines ended flights to the airport by the end of the decade.

Belgaum Airport saw the return of commercial flights in 2003, with Air Deccan providing service from Bengaluru. Air Deccan also flew to Kolhapur and Mumbai for some time. After Air Deccan completed its merger with Kingfisher Airlines in 2008, Kingfisher decided to end flights to Belgaum in June 2009. Nevertheless, expansion plans for Belgaum Airport were launched in 2010, when the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Government of Karnataka signed a memorandum of understanding. Kingfisher returned in January 2011 with daily flights from Mumbai, but it exited the market in November 2011 amid its own financial difficulties. SpiceJet arrived at Belgaum in November 2012 with flights from Bengaluru and later added direct flights to Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad after Belgaum airport was expanded in September 2017. Spicejet served the airport till May 2018. After Hubballi airport was nominated under the UDAN scheme, Spicejet shifted all its operations to Hubballi which it operated from Belgaum Airport. The airport came into operation again after Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India began flight services to Bengaluru from 11 July 2018. This was a three times a week flight operated by ATR 72 type aircraft. Air India began service to Bengaluru with its Airbus A319 aircraft from 10 August 2018 on the remaining 4 days of the week thus connecting Belgaum with Bengaluru all 7 days in the week. Also this was the first arrival of the Airbus A319 in Belgaum.

In 2013, the Central Government cleared the expansion project. Work began in February 2015 at a cost of Rs 1.20 billion and took over two and a half years. It involved extension of the runway, construction of a new isolation bay, a taxiway, an apron for three A-320 aircraft and a new 22.5-metre tall ATC tower. The expanded facilities were formally inaugurated on 14 September 2017 and AAI commissioned the new terminal and apron on 16 October 2017.

In 2020, Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi requested that the airport be named after Kittur Rani Chennamma.