In the early 1930s, the Carlisle County Borough council opened Kingstown Municipal Airport, which later became the RAF Kingstown and is now Kingstown or Kingmoor Industrial estate. With the outbreak of war in 1939, RAF Kingstown's runway was too small for bombers, so the Royal Air Force developed a new airstrip at Crosby-on-Eden. The new facility came into operation in February 1941 for training operations as RAF Crosby-on-Eden.

Originally housing No.59 Operational Training Unit the station provided day training for Hawker Hurricane pilots and later Bristol Beaufort and Bristol Beaufighter conversion squadrons, as well as air firing and night flying. In August 1944 the station came under the command of 109 OTU, a transport command of Douglas Dakotas.

After World War II British European Airways commenced flights to Ronaldsway and Belfast. However, RAF station became redundant station and in 1947 the airfield returned to Carlisle Council to continue as a Municipal Airport.

In 1960 Carlisle City Council purchased the site and renamed it Carlisle Airport. After a short refurbishment program it was licensed in 1961 for training purposes and civilian flights to destinations including London, the Channel Islands, Belfast and the Isle of Man.

Most of the original RAF structures remains intact.

Although regular scheduled flights from the airport have not been successful and as the airport had lost £3.5 million on operations between 1979 and 1994, Carlisle Council agreed to sell it.

Solway Aviation Museum is an independently run aircraft museum located at Carlisle Airport. The Museum is run by The Solway Aviation Society and staffed by unpaid volunteers. It is a Registered Charity and wholly supported by entrance charges to the Museum, donations and grants where available. The Museum building is leased through the generosity of Stobart Aviation who now own the airport. The Building contains exhibits and artefacts relating to many aspects of aviation in Cumbria including World War II and also houses individual displays featuring the development of Blue Streak, Martin Baker ejection seats and the development and activities of the airport itself since the second World War.

The current collection includes:

* F-4 Phantom II - the original gate guard at RAF Carlisle
* Avro Vulcan B2 - XJ823 flown into Carlisle Airport in January 1983, after the Falklands War.
* Meteor NF14
* Canberra
* Sea Prince
* Lightning
* Vampire
* Jet Provost
* Whirlwind helicopter
* Nimrod Cockpit section