The 2,744 metre (9,003 ft) runway can take the largest and fastest of civil and military aircraft, having been built and maintained for decades as an RAF maritime operations base.

[4] The airfield was opened in 1933 as a civilian facility, but was requisitioned at the outbreak of World War II and named RAF Trebelzue to support other bases in the Cornwall area.

The facility was then handed to the USAAF and there were a number of improvements, including the building of a new control tower and expansion of the current runway.

[citation needed] Flying operations at RAF St Mawgan (on the opposite side of the runway to the civil terminal) ceased in December 2008.

[5] This resulted in Monarch Airlines axing its route from the airport (to Málaga) and in Ryanair reducing the number of flights, though this was later restored.

In 2008, the airport closed from 1 to 19 December, to allow time for the takeover of the airfield navigation services (i.e. air traffic control) from RAF St Mawgan and to fully meet CAA standards.

[11] In May 2013, Flybe announced it would cease flying to Gatwick, leaving Newquay with year-round flights to just the Isles of Scilly and Manchester.

On 2 December 2013, Flybe announced they had agreed a deal with Newquay which would secure the future of the Gatwick route until the end of October 2014, so that a public service obligation (PSO) subsidy could be finalised.

[14] In August 2011, the UK government announced that the airport's bid to host an enterprise zone for aerospace businesses had been successful.

[19] From April 2013 until 2017, it has also operated a museum in the 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) Hangar 404, which was previously used to service the Hawker Siddeley Nimrods of RAF St Mawgan.

[22] Plans have been submitted to build the world's deepest artificial pool in Cornwall to train astronauts and help advance undersea robotics.

[23] A Cycle-hub is due to be built near Newquay Aerohub Business Park on council-owned land and is the result of a partnership between British Cycling, Cornwall Council and Sport England.

[26] In March 2015, the airport reported that the establishment of this segregated area had not yet been agreed with the Department for Transport, who stated that negotiations with international bodies to create an appropriate regulatory framework for UAVs were still taking place.

[29] The selection process was abandoned in May 2016 after the Department for Transport announced it would be creating regulatory conditions allowing any suitable location wishing to become a spaceport.

[44] On 5 November 2019, the UK Space Agency announced that it would provide £7.35M to establish Virgin Orbit operations at Spaceport Cornwall.

On 16 November 2022, it was announced that Spaceport Cornwall had been granted an operating licence by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) allowing it to send satellites into space.

However, after being released by its carrier aircraft, the LauncherOne rocket suffered an upper stage engine anomaly at approximately 180 km (112 miles) altitude on its ascent into space, failing to achieve orbit and resulting in the loss of the payload.