In 1936, the Yugoslav flag carrier Aeroput used a seaplane station in Dubrovnik to open the first route to the national capital Belgrade via Sarajevo.

However, the city was primarily served by an airfield at Gruda, approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) south-east of the current airport, which opened for commercial traffic in 1936, initially only in use during the summer months.

[3][4] After World War II, Gruda Airfield continued in operation[5] until the current Dubrovnik Airport opened in 1962.

During 1987, the busiest year in Yugoslav aviation, the airport handled 835,818 passengers on international flights and a further 586,742 on domestic services.

The price tag of the project amounts to seventy million euros and is to be financed out of a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.