Dubbed as the first eco-airport in the Philippines and the country's green gateway, the airport is located at a 230-hectare (570-acre)[5] site in Barangay Tawala in Panglao.

[7] On September 4, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III, head of the NEDA Board of the Philippines, approved a resolution giving the green light for the construction of the airport.

[8] The proposed airport was to be funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA) instead of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), an infrastructure-building program of the government of the Philippines wherein the private sector may participate in any of the schemes authorized by its build-operate-transfer law.

On June 9, 2014, six Japanese firms submitted bids for construction of the proposed airport at a cost of ₱7.14 billion to be funded from official development assistance (ODA) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

[11] On December 15, the Department of Transportation and Communications started its search for bidders to bid out for the operations and maintenance (and future extension) of the airport under a concession model.

[19] After surpassing the Swiss challenge,[20] Aboitiz announced on November 27, 2024, that they have been awarded the ₱4.53-billion, 30-year contract by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

[13] To make the airport capable of night operations, an instrument landing system and other navigational equipment were installed in 2019.

In 2016, the Bohol provincial government pushed to install jet bridges for easier acces,[15] hence, a second level was constructed.