It is located 15 kilometres; 9.2 miles (8 NM) north[3][4] of Newcastle (27 km (17 mi) by road) in Port Stephens.

Jetstar, Virgin Australia and QantasLink operate flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ballina.

[7] Commercial operations began at Williamtown in 1947 when the federal government opened the existing Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airport to civil aviation.

Passenger numbers increased during the 1980s with new airlines and routes serving the airport, including jet services utilising Fokker F28s of Air New South Wales and Ansett Boeing 737s.

In 1994, Impulse added the first direct Newcastle – Melbourne flights to their network utilising British Aerospace Jetstream 41 aircraft.

In 1996, owing largely Impulse's establishment of Newcastle as a regional hub, the terminal facilities were upgraded to handle growing passenger volumes.

Newcastle Airport remained an integral part of the Impulse route network until the company was bought out by Qantas the following year.

This development doubled the available floor space in the terminal building, enhanced security screening and added a third departure gate, two baggage carousels and a retail concourse with five stores.

The new expansion opened the airport to possible international services with a dedicated area for permanent customs, immigration and quarantine facilities.

[13][14] Redevelopment works for the adjacent RAAF base Williamtown, including a 650 m (2,133 ft) extension of the shared runway, began in January 2015.

Newcastle Airport is served by bus services operated by Hunter Valley Buses and Port Stephens Coaches.

[24] On 14 April 2022, then-Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce announced that the federal Morrison government would fund $55 million for the international and domestic terminal upgrades for the airport.

(Subject to Delays)[26] In July 2022, Newcastle Airport announced its interest to begin direct flights to Singapore.