Federal Aviation Administration records show 141,847 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[3] 103,067 in 2009 and 111,699 in 2010.

[4] It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.

By 1910, only seven years after the Wright Brothers' first airplane flight, aircraft began arriving in the county.

Originally at the intersection of U.S. Route 99 and Norris Road, the following year it was moved one mile east to its current location.

[8] In September 1939, war broke out in Europe, prompting Congress to appropriate $40 million for the Development of Landing Areas for National Defense (DLAND).

By 1941, the Army Air Corps had begun directing aid to Meadows Field for improvements to include the operation of airport towers.

In late 1943, the United States Army Air Forces acquired usage rights to Meadows Field.

In addition, flights of P-61s from the 426th, 547th, 548th, and 550th Night Fighter squadrons moved in and out of Meadows Field during 1944 as part of their training prior to being deployed to combat units, primarily in the Pacific and CBI theaters.

[8] He was the county's Director of Airports from 1935 to 1957, except during World War II when he was a pilot in the armed forces.

For a short time in 1933 and 1934, Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) served the city on a San Francisco-Fresno-Bakersfield-Los Angeles route.

In 1966, Pacific Air Lines operated Boeing 727-100s nonstop to Los Angeles and Fresno and one-stop to San Francisco; this was the airport's first jet service.

Pacific Express served the airport with BAC One-Elevens nonstop to San Francisco and Santa Barbara during the 1980s.

America West Airlines operated mainline service to Las Vegas from 1990–1991 using the De Havilland Dash 8 turboprop.

From 1984 until 1999, American Airlines operated Dallas/Fort Worth service using the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 which initially included a Santa Barbara stopover.

From September 1994 through April 1995, American operated a Boeing 757-200 to John Wayne Airport and one-stop to Chicago-O'Hare which is believed to be the largest commercial jetliner to serve Bakersfield.

Allegiant Air operated to Las Vegas from 2010–2011 using the McDonnell Douglas MD-80, and Frontier Airlines briefly flew Airbus A319s to Denver in 2014.

The City of Bakersfield and the County of Kern attempted to prevent a reduction in service by filing a joint lawsuit; however, the court sided with the federal government.

[12][13][14] Except for the lengthening of the main runway in 1987 to accommodate wide-body jets, few improvements were done at Meadows Field during that period.

In 2002, it was estimated that about 400,000 people who lived in the service area of the airport chose to fly from a different location; 25% of those flew to destinations in Mexico.

[15] Kern County started multiple projects to address the reluctance of airlines to use the airport.

They included: installing centerline landing lights on the main runway, extending the second runway to 7,700 feet (the length most airplanes that use the airport would need), construction of a new terminal with jet bridges and inside baggage claim, and remodeling the existing terminal to accommodate international flights.

[17] However, high gas prices and the subsequent recession of 2008 would reduce service to 2002 levels, including the loss of the airport's international carrier.

[19] In the year ending May 31, 2018, the airport had 61,229 aircraft operations, average 168 per day: 76% general aviation, 20% air taxi, 4% airline, and <1% military.

In November 2021, 194 aircraft were based at the airport: 108 single-engine, 52 multi-engine, 32 jet, 1 ultralight, and 1 helicopter.

Features of the terminal include a rotunda with compass point floor design and a scaled model of Spaceship One (which flew out of Mojave about 50 miles (80 km) east of Bakersfield).

Both the motel and the restaurant were closed in 2001 due to the decline in passenger traffic following the September 11 attacks and were later demolished in 2005.

There is a long-term plan to extend Wings Way through the airport, which would provide a more direct connection, but there is no date for construction.

In both cases, drivers then turn east on Merle Haggard Drive, which leads to the airport.

Kern County has planned several improvements to the airport over the next 20 years, all of which are based on future demand.

A new, expanded cargo facility is planned west of Merle Haggard Drive, north of the runway.