It is named after Bilasa Bai Kevtin, a renowned 16th-century personality known for her bravery and courage to fight against difficult situations, who belonged to a fishermen tribe residing near the Arpa River.

[4] Built in 1942, it opened as Royal Indian Air Force Station, Bilaspur, in the Central Provinces of British India.

[8] On 2 February 2021, the former Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri, announced that commercial flight services will be operational from the airport to Prayagraj, Delhi, Bhopal and Jabalpur from 1 March 2021.

This means low-cost carriers like IndiGo, AIX Connect and Go First, which have a fleet of the types of aircraft mentioned above, cannot serve the airport until the runway is extended and widened.

On 26 October 2019, a large number of local residents began an indefinite strike to protest against the Central and State Governments for demanding more air connectivity from the airport, at a city townhall, named Raghvendra Rao Bhawan.

Their demands were as follows: The people also started gathering on the social media platforms of Twitter and Instagram, by creating a group named "BAAC" (Bilaspur Airport Awareness Campaign), for the same demands, asking directly to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and the Member of Parliament and Legislative Assembly of Bilaspur constituency to draw their attention towards development of the airport and to take immediate actions.

The group on the two social media platforms was created so that people among it share updates and announcements based on the airport's development.