The contract for the Forrestfield–Airport Link, which consists of 8 kilometres (5 mi) of twin bored tunnels and three new stations, was awarded to Salini Impregilo and NRW Pty Ltd in April 2016.

Rather than be located directly next to T1, the station is placed centrally within the precinct so that it is as close as possible to any future terminals.

The master plan states that new terminals will be connected to the station via an extension of the Skybridge or by a new underground walkway.

There is a two-part artwork along the northern and southern interior walls of the station by Anne Neil and John Walley entitled Journeys.

The artwork along the northern wall consists of multi-coloured petal-shaped objects designed to evoke birds and flight.

On the southern wall are 50 glass panels with an artwork designed to "describe the Noongar[a] connection to the river and estuary waters, and the journeys traditionally taken in accordance with the six seasons.

"[8][14][15] Within the Skybridge, audio plays reflecting upon the significance of the Swan River and the Whadjuk country to the Noongar people.

The audio consists of a narrative voiceover by a traditional custodian, animal sounds, and an original musical score.

There is also artwork along the Skybridge walls and travellators designed by Jade Dolman and Crispian Warrell of Nani Creative.

[18] The station was renamed to its present name in April 2016 upon the awarding of the main contract, worth A$1.176 billion, to a joint venture of Salini Impregilo and NRW Pty Ltd (SI/NRW).

[21][22] The construction of the Skybridge was under a different contract, awarded to Georgiou Group in late 2018[23][24] at a cost of $31 million.

[32] Excavation was completed in January 2018 and construction of the concrete base slab commenced the following month.

Construction on other elements of the station commenced after that,[32][40] including staircases and infrastructure for the escalators and lifts.

[42] Construction on Airport Central station's steel structure and the concrete concourse slab began in early 2019.

[47][48] By November 2019, the concourse slab and the steel lift frames were complete[49] and the Skybridge was connected to the station.

[53][54] The roof was mostly complete by June 2020, allowing work such as the fit-out of escalators and lifts[55][56] and the installation of cladding along the walls to commence.

[57][58] On 18 December 2018, state Transport Minister Rita Saffioti announced that the opening date of the project had been delayed from 2020 to 2021.