The airport opened in July 1965[8] being the main gateway to Faro District (the year-round resort region of the Algarve) and southwestern Spain, with nearly 10 million passengers using the facility in 2024.

Since 2022, it is named after Gago Coutinho, Portuguese geographer, cartographer, naval officer, historian and aviation pioneer.

Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada, Santa Maria, Horta, Flores, Madeira, and Porto Santo, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation were conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.

[9] Since its opening in 1966 to the 2000s, Faro airport has had two major developments: the new passenger terminal building in 1989, and its enlargement in 2001.

Faced with growing traffic demand and passenger safety and satisfaction needs, the development plan for 2009–2013 saw Faro airport undergo extensive improvements to runway and infrastructure, as well as a widespread renovation of the airport terminal and commercial areas.

Phase II involved the renovation of the passenger terminal and the improvement of the landside access.

At the same time it was announced the commissioning of a solar power plant with a capacity of 3MWp, enabling to produce 30% of the airport's electricity needs, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 1,500 tonnes per year.