The aerodrome is situated within the town limits of Belp and previously offered scheduled flights to various European cities as well as several leisure destinations. It is located six kilometers southeast of Bern in the municipality of Belp. The airfield is commonly referred to by its local name, derived from its position in the Belpmoos, an alluvial plain in the Aare Valley.
Road access is available from the south via Vehweid from main road 6 and from the A6 Rubigen motorway exit, or from the north on Flugplatzstrasse via Kehrsatz. There is paid outdoor parking available. The airport is also conveniently reachable by public transport: Bernmobil line 160 operates every half hour to Belp train station, where S-Bahn lines S3, S4, S31, and S44 connect to Bern Central Station. The journey between the airport and Bern train station takes about 30 minutes. This line also links the Bern-Belp airfield with nearby communities such as Konolfingen, Tägertschi, Münsingen, Rubigen, and Belp.
Originally, Terminal A was set to be demolished and replaced with a new facility starting in 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the commencement of this project has been delayed for at least three years.
The airfield was established in 1929 by Alpar, a private airline that operated within Switzerland until World War II began. After the war, Alpar continued to function as an airfield operator, receiving support from subsidies provided by the cantonal and city governments. A proposed expansion in 1947 was rejected in a referendum, and it wasn't until 1950 that the first concrete runway was constructed. In 2014, Alpar was rebranded as Flughafen Bern AG.
Numerous efforts to create an international airport in and around Bern to replace the small Belpmoos regional airport were unsuccessful. In 1945, the national parliament opted to build the first international airport, now known as Zurich Airport, in Kloten near Zurich instead of in Utzensdorf near Bern. However, plans for development in Utzensdorf were kept alive as an intercity airport, which would require less space and thus address local opposition from agricultural interests. A proposed airport project in 1963 near Herrenschwanden was scrapped due to significant resistance from the local population, particularly farmers, as were projects in 1966 in Rosshäuser and in 1970 in Kallnach.