The location of Scandinavian Mountains Airport was initially an airstrip constructed in the late 1960s on farmland at Mobergskölen near the village of Rörbäcksnäs, 6.5 km (4.0 mi) by road or 4.7 km (2.9 mi) by straight line from the Norwegian border. Originally established by locals interested in aviation, it served as a small sports airfield. The airstrip grew in the 1970s when the local Sälenfjällens Flying Club took over operations, naming it Sälen Trysil Airport in 1972. By 2005, the runway had been extended to 1,199 meters to better support local aviation needs. In the early 2000s, ski resorts on both sides of the border experienced an increase in international tourism, leading to plans for an airport to accommodate guests from across Europe. Before opening, the nearest commercial airports to the area were the local Mora Airport (113 km from Sälen/168 km from Trysil) and Oslo Airport (213 km from Sälen/171 km from Trysil). The airstrip and airport should not be confused with the Trysil Airstrip (ICAO:ENTS), a private 800 metres (2,600 ft) paved airstrip in Norway, 30 km west of Sälen Airport. Planning for the new airport began in the early 2010s as a response to the growing demand in the Scandinavian ski tourism industry. The project was led by new owners Scandinavian Mountains Airport AB, a consortium of local tourism stakeholders from both Sweden and Norway, including municipal tourist promotion companies and SkiStar, which owns nearby ski resorts. Plans focused on building an airport to accommodate charter flights for tourists coming to the winter sports resorts of Sälen and Idre in Sweden, and Trysil in Norway. An initial report commissioned by the Swedish Transport Agency questioned the airport’s passenger forecasts, recommending that Mora Airport, located an hour away, should be trialled for regional flights first. Environmental concerns were also voiced, with the network Protect Our Winters protesting the potential impact of increased air traffic on the region’s climate and winter sports viability. In February 2013, Sweden's Land and Environmental Court approved the airport plans. By August 2013, Malung-Sälen Municipality, which had taken an active role in supporting the project, committed to a land exchange deal. The municipality swapped over 2 million SEK worth of forest land with Lima Besparingsskog, a local forestry cooperative, in exchange for the land where the airport would be constructed. In May 2017, the European Commission approved the Swedish government's investment grant of SEK 250 million to support the airport's construction. Local regions and municipalities also contributed money. Groundwork construction for the airport started in August 2017, and the 2,500-metre runway was paved by October 2018. The contract to build the terminal for the airport was awarded to Peab in June 2018, to be completed in August 2019. The airport received its IATA code, SCR, in May 2019. Scandinavian Mountains Airport officially opened in December 2019, becoming the first new airport in Sweden in 20 years. The airport was designed with a focus on seasonal tourism, mainly catering to winter travellers. In January 2020, the Swedish government approved Scandinavian Mountains Airport to receive international flights, allowing the airport to accept passengers outside the Schengen area, particularly from London, starting February 1, 2020, following an application from Malung-Sälen municipality to designate the airport as a border crossing point.