Since its inauguration, in terms of passenger traffic, Cibao International has been projected to become one of the busiest airports in the country.

Recently many tourists and missionary workers are using Cibao International as a gateway to the Dominican Republic, with new routes to Spain and Colombia.

The airport contains Dominican Republic's busiest international route (STI-JFK), with over 1.051 million passengers every year as of 2023.

The airport was inaugurated on March 18, 2002, with two direct flights to San Juan operated by American Eagle.

[4] In May 2002, Aeromar Líneas Aéreas Dominicanas made the first direct flight from Santiago to JFK Airport in New York.

In 2003, Aeromar Líneas Aéreas Dominicanas stopped their flights into Santiago after the airline ceased operations.

[4] In April 2008, Cibao International became the first airport in the country to eliminate fees for private planes, making it possible to increase tourism in the region.

On January 9, 2009, Spirit Airlines announced operations to Santiago from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, starting on June 21, 2009.

Also, in 2010, regular domestic routes from Santiago operated by Aerolineas Mas, Air Century, Caribair and VolAir were established.

Up until January 2020, the airport operated on private land which wasn't paid to the original owners; the current administration was plagued with multiple lawsuits, with the lower courts siding with the landowners.

Future expansion of this airport is being discussed which would include additional gates and baggage handling areas as well as expanding the taxiway.

The airport's operators are discussing the expansion of the runway to allow larger aircraft for long-haul flights from Europe.

[8] The design work was carried out by Luis Vidal + Architects, and it will be built under the direction of the Airport's technical team.

[9] The plan calls for building a new, international terminal equipped with nine contact stands, the transformation of the current building into a hybrid mixed-use space, the extension of the aircraft movement and parking platform, extension of the runway by about 380 meters to accommodate aircraft with greater capacity and range and a new taxiway.