A portion of the Jetport's property, including the main runway, is located within the neighboring city of South Portland.

[5] The Jetport has benefited from service by low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue, as well as Portland's increased popularity as a tourist destination.

[6] In October 2011, PWM completed a $75 million renovation and expansion of its terminal to allow more airline service and more amenities for passengers.

In January 1934, a statewide airport survey was conducted by Captain Harry M. Jones, of the Maine Emergency Relief Administration (MERA), a state division of the Federal New Deal public works programs launched in November 1933.

According to Portland Town Reports, the WPA conducted two projects sponsored by the city: The present airport started to take shape in the 1950s.

[15] Northeast Airlines long had a monopoly on commercial air travel in Portland, dating to its time as Boston-Maine Airways.

Jet flights began in 1968 and, for the first time, Portland got a non-stop beyond Boston when Northeast DC-9s flew to LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

Northeast would be alone at the airport until 1970, when Aroostook Airways began flights between Presque Isle and Portland, with stops in Augusta and Bangor.

[18] In 1972, Northeast Airlines was bought by Delta Air Lines, which retained its routes to Bangor, Boston, and New York.

This departure was followed a year later by the arrival of Air Vermont, a regional carrier that flew between Portland and Burlington until expiring about 1983 or 1984.

That same year, regional Ransome Airlines, doing business as Delta Connection, began a route between Portland and Boston.

[23][24] Low-cost carrier Presidential Airways also began service from the Jetport in 1986, flying a route from Portland to Washington's Dulles International Airport.

[24] In 1995 a terminal-building improvement project was undertaken to add two second-level boarding gates, as well as additional space for ticketing, operations, departure lounge, concessions, and an international customs facility.

[21] On the morning of September 11, 2001, Mohamed Atta and Abdulaziz al-Omari traveled on Colgan Air Flight 5930 from Portland Jetport to Boston's Logan International Airport.

After Independence Air went bankrupt, Portland had no low-cost carrier, causing fares to go up and passenger numbers to decline.

[28] Capitalizing on the underserved market, JetBlue began air service to Portland on May 23, 2006, with four daily flights to New York–JFK aboard Airbus A320 and Embraer 190 jets.

At the same time as AirTran's arrival, JetBlue announced that it would be adding a fifth flight to New York City, further increasing the number of available low-cost seats.

[29] In 2008, Delta Air Lines resumed mainline service to Portland, a daily flight to Atlanta on a McDonnell Douglas MD-88.

[30] With these increases, 2008 also saw a number of losses of service, with air traffic in an overall decline as the airline industry scaled back due to the Great Recession.

In fall 2009, PWM built an official plane spotting area on Aviation Boulevard in South Portland, allowing aircraft enthusiasts to observe flights arriving and departing.

[31] In 2010 Starlink Aviation ended its service to Yarmouth and Halifax, Nova Scotia, citing the loss of a Canadian subsidy.

[32] Twin Cities ceased its scheduled service out of PWM in December 2012 but continues to offer the route on a charter basis.

These closures resulting in a temporary decrease in airport capacity due to the need for aircraft to "back-taxi" around the closed portions of Taxiway A.

This was done to adhere to FAA regulations that aim to prevent aircraft from being pushed back onto the runway while leaving the terminal gates.