Located approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) from the city centre, within the North Canberra district,[4] it is the ninth-busiest airport in Australia.

[5][6] Major redevelopment work completed in 2013 included the demolition of the old terminal, replacing it with a new facility designed to handle up to eight million passengers annually.

As a former Royal Australian Air Force base, Defence Establishment Fairbairn is located within Canberra Airport and supports government VIP flying operations by 34 Squadron as well as ground handling for itinerant military aircraft and visiting heads of state.

On 13 August 1940, in what became known as the Canberra air disaster, a RAAF Lockheed Hudson flying from Melbourne crashed into a small hill to the east of the airport.

Prior to privatisation, the Government of the Australian Capital Territory recommended further development of the airport as an international gateway, capable of limited widebody operations to destinations in South-East Asia and the Pacific region, but noted there was little appetite from Australian airlines to establish such services[10] In May 1997, Canberra handled its first international flight when a charter for the ACT Brumbies to New Zealand was operated by a Qantas Boeing 737 with temporary immigration facilities set up.

In 2006 the main runway was upgraded to cater for heavier aircraft, allowing visiting dignitaries and heads of state to fly direct to the capital.

[27] In 2010, 8 Brindabella Circuit, a building located in the administration area of the Airport precinct, won the 5 Green Stars Australian Excellence Award.

Canberra's status as Australia's capital city and the above average income of residents in the surrounding area provide arguments in favour of more international services at the airport.

By August 2020, the airport reported a 99% reduction in passengers and closed the terminal on Saturdays as a cost saving measure, while management criticised State governments for enforcing border closures with the ACT, despite there being no active community transmission of the virus in the Territory.

[39] Easing of travel restrictions in late September saw resumption and increased frequency on some interstate routes, avoiding further reduction to five days per week operations.

[44] On 17 July 2020, Qantas carried passengers on a scenic flight aboard its final Boeing 747 from Canberra Airport over the capital and surrounding region.

[45] The special flight, touted as a public farewell for the 747 long-haul fleet, had originally been planned over Melbourne, but it was changed to Canberra due to Victorian lockdowns.

[51] The Canberra Spatial Plan released by the ACT Government in March 2004 identified the airport and surrounding areas as being an important centre for future industrial and related development.

These flights, which used a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, departed Canberra from the international/domestic terminal, and provided a guided aerial tour of Antarctica before returning to Australia.

As noted in the 2014 Canberra Airport Master plan, this runway is primarily used by general aviation and was considered by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) to be a thinly veiled attempt to unlock a larger area of the site for non-aviation purposes.

Pilots have been warned of potential safety issues arising from turbulence caused by mostly non-aviation related development encroaching close to the runway.

[81] In 1955, the Commonwealth Government recommended that a second airport be built to separate slower and smaller aircraft from much faster turboprop airliners as passenger traffic grew.

In 2011, the ACT Government considered a proposal to develop a small airport on a site in Williamsdale, south of Canberra that would be support general aviation and emergency services users[82] The Government declined to proceed after conducting a cost–benefit analysis that anticipated marginal returns on the required investment, despite demand for a secondary airport.

[81] They argue that establishment of a secondary airport will boost the city's economy through the creation of maintenance and engineering jobs and provide facilities for Canberra's universities to expand flight training programs.

Proposals have been made to the NSW Planning Minister by various developers to approve housing estates that are under the southern flight paths in New South Wales.

A major junction, which connects the Majura Parkway and Monaro Highway with Canberra's east-west arterial road network, is located adjacent to the airport.

In 2007, the Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope controversially attributed the congestion to the Federal Government permitting construction of office buildings on airport land.

[94] A report commissioned by the ACT Government, however, identified a range of factors contributing including population growth in Gungahlin and Queanbeyan and the expansion of the airport itself, calling for a staged approach to road improvements in the area.

[95][96] Major investment in upgrades aimed at improving access have progressively been completed since 2008 through joint funding from both Canberra Airport Group and the Government of the Australian Capital Territory.

[99] Hire car companies maintain a presence in the terminal and Uber pick-up and drop offs are permitted with a $3 fee charged to drivers.