The airport is located in Alajuela Province, 20 kilometres (12 mi; 11 nmi) northwest of downtown San José.

It is named after Costa Rica's national hero, Juan Santamaría, a drummer boy who died in 1856 defending his country against forces led by William Walker, an American filibuster.

It is the biggest and busiest airport in Costa Rica and second in Central America, transiting more than 5 million passengers per year before COVID.

The airport was built to replace the previous one in downtown San Jose, where Parque La Sabana is located today.

No major changes were made to the terminal until November 1997, when the government issued a decree requesting participation of private companies to manage the operations of the airport.

[10] After several years of legal challenges and contract negotiations, in May 2001, Alterra Partners received a 20-year concession and started managing the facilities.

[11] The dispute lasted several years and problems started at the terminal; in 2005, the International Civil Aviation Organization pointed out that the airport did not comply with safety regulations.