The airport is named after Djalaluddin Tantu, a colonel of the Indonesian Air Force from Gorontalo, who died during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation in Malaysia when his C-130 Hercules was shot down.

At that time, for military transportation in uniting and defending the territory of Indonesia, a small airfield was built in Tolotio.

Along with the completion of the airfield construction in 1956, a Douglas DC-3 landed at Tolotio Airport for the first time.

In 1974, the airport was renamed Djalaluddin Airport after fallen Indonesian Air Force pilot, Djalaluddin Tantu, based on the proposal of the Armed Forces faction in the parliament of Gorontalo Regency.

The ground floor serves as a place to check in, drop off, and baggage claim, as well as public and employee areas.

There are also mosques located downstairs and upstairs, lactation rooms, an escalator, lifts, toilets, and wheelchairs for passengers with illness or disability.