Construction and early history

The airport has been in operation since 1928, during the Dutch colonial period. At that time, an aircraft piloted by American aviator Lamij Johnson became the first to land at the airfield, making a transit stop before continuing on to Australia. The airport was originally named Penfui Airfield. The word Penfui itself means "corn forest," derived from the Timorese words "pena" meaning "corn" and "fui" meaning "forest." The name reflected the area surrounding the airfield at the time, which was largely planted with corn.

Between 1939 and 1941, the airfield was upgraded and developed by Australian forces in anticipation of a potential Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies. Its strategic proximity to Australia made it a valuable asset to the Allied forces during World War II. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a small Australian force known as Sparrow Force arrived at Kupang on 12 December 1941 and was deployed at Penfui Airfield. The airfield also became a vital link between Australia and American forces fighting in the Philippines under Douglas MacArthur. Penfui was attacked by Japanese aircraft on 26 and 30 January 1942; however, the raids were hindered by British anti aircraft defenses and, to a lesser extent, by Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters of the 33rd Pursuit Squadron, eleven of which were based in Darwin.

On 19 February 1942, Japanese forces landed at Kupang, marking the beginning of the Battle of Timor with the objective of capturing Penfui Airfield. Five Type 94 tankettes were deployed to support the advancing infantry, which moved north, cutting off Dutch positions in the west and attacking the 2/40th Battalion at Penfui. Sparrow Force was ordered to destroy the airfield to prevent it from falling into Japanese hands; however, the order was not carried out, and the troops instead abandoned the airfield and withdrew to Camplong. The Japanese subsequently captured Penfui intact, quickly repaired it, and brought it into operation to support their war effort.

Within days of its capture, Penfui Airfield was converted into a naval air base for the 3rd Naval Air Squadron of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS). The Japanese recognized that the airfield had previously served as a key transit point on the route between Java and Australia—initially for reinforcing Allied forces in Java, and later for evacuating personnel to Australia. Throughout the war, the Japanese used the airfield to launch air raids against northern Australia, including the major attack on Broome on 3 March 1942, which involved nine Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters and a Mitsubishi C5M2 reconnaissance aircraft. Allied forces sought to curb Japanese air raids on Australia by repeatedly targeting Penfui Airfield. One notable strike occurred on 2 December, when No. 31 Squadron RAAF conducted a raid that destroyed 18 Japanese aircraft without suffering any losses.

The Japanese remained at the airfield until 11 September 1945, when the entire Japanese garrison in Timor surrendered to Australian forces stationed there. Control of the airfield was subsequently returned to the Dutch authorities.

Contemporary history

Following the Round Table Conference in 1949, Penfui Airfield was officially handed over by the Dutch military to the Government of Indonesia on May 6, 1950.

With growing demand for air travel in the 1960s, the airfield began accommodating Garuda Indonesia's DC-3 aircraft. At that time, flight operations and air traffic management were overseen by the Indonesian Air Force, as a dedicated civil aviation authority had not yet been established.

During the buildup to Operation Seroja—the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in December 1975—Penfui Airfield served as a forward base for the Indonesian Air Force, supporting preparations for the airborne assault. Indonesian paratroopers were stationed at the airfield before being deployed to the front lines.

In 1988, the airport was officially renamed to its current name, in honor of Elias Tari, the second governor of East Nusa Tenggara, who served from 1966 to 1978. Management of the airport was later transferred to Angkasa Pura I in 1999, later rebranded as InJourney Airports.

The airport once served international flights to neighboring countries such as Dili in East Timor and Darwin in Australia. However, the route to Darwin was discontinued in 2008. On April 2, 2024, the Ministry of Transportation revoked the airport's international status due to the absence of active international flights. The East Nusa Tenggara government has made efforts to reactivate the Kupang-Darwin route, though these efforts have yet to come to fruition.

In 2025, Ministry of Transportation of Indonesia officially reinstated the international status of the airport. In the same year, the airport announced Wings Air will serve international routes from Kupang to Dili, East Timor and was scheduled to operate in March 2026 by using ATR-72-600 aircraft which marks the resumption of international flight from Kupang airport.