[citation needed] The airport was built on a nearest beach in Laguindingan at the north side (westbound).

[8] The airport project also aims to boost economic activities, specifically of the Cagayan-Iligan Corridor, and expects to serve as the gateway to Northern Mindanao.

Although the Philippine Government has signed a US$25 million soft loan agreement with the South Korean government through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund, there has been difficulty in raising counterpart funding for acquisition of the estimated 300 hectares of land eventually required by the airport complex.

It was headed by the Department of Transportation and Communications and its foreign and local consultants, South Korea-based Yooshin Engineering Corporation and Ortigas Center, Pasig-based SCHEMA Konsult, Inc. respectively, and Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Company as the general contractor for the project.

[13] However, on April 18, 2013, the DOTC announced that the opening would be pushed back to June 15, 2013[14] because CAAP had received requests from airlines to postpone the transfer until after the summer peak season, as an April 30 opening would require the cancellation of several daily trips.

[16] Laguindingan Airport was expected to facilitate night landings by December 2014, upon the completion of the installation of various navigational systems.

[19][20] Philippine Airlines opened a Mabuhay Lounge at the airport in January 2018, but has been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[21] In August 2013, the Project Development and Monitoring Facility Board had approved for the revision of the operations and maintenance of the airport.

The operations and maintenance were already approved for funding but were revised to include the construction of a new terminal to the winning PPP bidder.

[22] According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and airport manager Jose Bodiongan, the airport would become the “busiest regional transportation hub” with the installation of the runway lights, navigation equipment (required for nighttime flights) and the purchase of two new fire trucks.

[25] On February 26, 2019, Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. was granted by CAAP an Original Proponent Status (OPS) for its unsolicited proposal for the airport's upgrade, expansion, operations, and maintenance.

[26] After undergoing an unsuccessful Swiss challenge,[27] on September 30, 2024, the Philippine government awarded Aboitiz InfraCapital with a ₱12.75-billion contract to develop and maintain the airport beginning in April 2025.

[30][31] This is part of the pre-conditions granted by Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines for expropriating the lands the government bought from the corporation.

[32] In September 2017, Ayala Land is set to build its first industrial estate outside Luzon within the planned aerotropolis.

The Air Traffic Control (ATC) is managed by Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and designed to run 24 hours a day.