In November 1929, a new airport was built to serve Stalinabad (past name of Dushanbe).

On 7 September 1992, during the first months of the Tajikistani Civil War, President Rahmon Nabiyev and an entourage of his were on their way to the airport when they were ambushed by opposition forces.

At the terminal, Nabiyev was forced to resign, practically at gunpoint, after a meeting and discussions with the armed opposition in the VIP lounge, before being released.

[3] A new French-built terminal, which can serve 1.5 million passengers a year, was opened on 3 September 2014.

[4][5] France provided Tajikistan a long-term, low-interest €20 million loan.