Instead, it was made operational during World War II in 1940 as an airbase by the German Luftwaffe in occupied Poland. Postwar, between 1945 and 2000 it was used by Polish and Soviet air forces. In 2000 the Polish Ministry of National Defence declared the airfield closed.[4] The airport's runway was in poor condition and lacked proper lighting and modern radio navigation aids such as an Instrument Landing System.