It serves the Halifax region, mainland Nova Scotia, and adjacent areas in the neighbouring Maritime provinces.

The airport is named in honour of Robert Stanfield, the 17th Premier of Nova Scotia and former leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

In October 1945, the City of Halifax asked the federal Department of Transport for help choosing a site for a new civil airport.

[5] A key factor was to find a site near Halifax with a minimal number of days per year when fog would affect airport operation.

Lucasville was favoured, but after a year of study it was found to have similar average visibility to the frequently foggy airport at Shearwater.

[8][9] The new airport was substantially completed in June 1960, and a temporary licence for daytime visual flight rules (VFR) operations was issued that month.

[7][10] At 4:50 am on August 1, 1960 the first airplane landed there, a Vickers Viscount running the Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 400 between Montreal and Newfoundland.

[13] A 5,000-square-metre (54,000 sq ft) passenger terminal extension opened in July 1976, which saw the installation of the airport's first three air bridges.

A 400-square-metre (4,300 sq ft) southern expansion was opened in December 1994 by Minister of Transport Doug Young, while the check-in area was expanded in 1998.

[5] Following the September 11 attacks in 2001 the airport took part in Operation Yellow Ribbon, commenced to accept United States civilian flights after the Federal Aviation Administration closed down U.S. airspace.

[17] The Halifax municipal government was tasked with providing emergency shelter, food, transportation and care to the stranded travellers, who were housed in city sports complexes and schools, churches, universities, military bases, as well as the homes of private citizens.

[23] The terminal was officially rechristened in a ceremony held on September 9, 2005, when the Stanfield family unveiled a brass memorial plaque in the airport observation floor.

[27] In early 2010, Halifax Stanfield was rated by passengers as the Best Airport in the World in its class (under 5 million) for the seventh year in a row.

It cost about C$4.5 million to construct and, upon opening, included health, immigration and customs facilities for international passengers; a restaurant; a control tower and administrative offices; and two observation decks that projected onto the apron.

[32] A new international arrivals area, three times larger than the previous one, opened at the north end of the terminal in August 2001.

The upper level of this expansion included a space reserved for United States border preclearance facilities (see below).

[33] A new domestic arrivals hall, accommodating three baggage reclaim belts and a Nova Scotia visitor's centre, officially opened on December 18, 2002.

[35] A southern terminal expansion was completed in 2005, expanding the departures holdroom, adding three new jet bridges, and creating a dedicated commuter aircraft facility with new ground-loading gates.

[citation needed] On September 12, 2007, the airport authority announced the construction of a 2,300 space, five-storey parking garage, which was completed on March 12, 2009.

The second floor contains an expanded, double-height passenger waiting area, with additional seating, as well as new dining and retail space.

[42] In 2010, extension of the taxiway system resulted in an increased airside area, creating space for several newly constructed large hangars.

[46] Keddy's faced financial troubles and was $35 million in debt, and project funding from a consortium of Hong Kongese and Taiwanese immigrant investors fell through.

[47] The federal government searched for a company interested in completing the project, but the only proposal received was deemed inadequate.

[49] In early 2009 the airport authority and the developers jointly agreed to postpone construction of the hotel due to the global economic downturn.

[51] Linked to both the passenger terminal and the parking garage by an enclosed footbridge, the $27 million building was built by Marco Construction of Halifax and opened in 2013.

Operated by Groupe Germain Hospitalité, the hotel includes conference and banquet facilities, a fitness centre, a pool, and a 24-hour cafe.

Many of its proposals have since been realised, such as construction of an on-site hotel, the southern terminal expansion, and extensions of the main runway.

Possible future plans outlined in this document include new taxiways and parking stands, another de-icing area, space for new logistics and aviation services development, and a major expansion of the public road network (partly built) to facilitate development of a large commercial area between the airport and the highway.