Srinagar airfield was established by the Indian Air Force, and during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the airstrip was used for the airlift of Indian army troops deployed to prevent the capture of Srinagar by the Pakistan army. Although the airstrip was not well developed and lacked landing aids, it was used for airlift of troops successfully in October 1947. During the 1950s to 1970s, the airfield evolved into one of the forward attack bases of the Indian Air Force. On 7 September 1965, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the airport was attacked by the Pakistan Air Force, which damaged an Indian Air Force Douglas C-47 Skytrain and an Indian Airlines Douglas DC-3. As per Chicago Tribune, one Indian aircraft and a de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou transport of the United Nations observers headquarters were damaged in the attack. Later, the airport, which housed various fighter squadrons of the Indian Air Force, served as a launchpad for combat air patrols and counter-air missions during the Indo-Pakistani wars in 1965 and 1971.

In 1979, the National Airports Authority of India established a civil enclave at the airport. The terminal was upgraded in February 1998 to be able to handle international Hajj flights which started operating from January 2002. During the Kargil War in 1999, civilian flights were stopped and the airport was taken over by the Indian Air Force.

In March 2005, the airport was granted international status by the Indian government. In 2015, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir proposed to rename the airport as Sheikh ul-Alam Airport after Nund Rishi, a Kashmiri Sufi saint, who was known by the title of Sheikh ul-Alam. However, the name of the airport was not officially changed. In 2020, the Bharatiya Janata Party proposed that the airport be named after Major Somnath Sharma, the first recipient of India's highest military decoration, Param Vir Chakra.