[7] After the surprise attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December 1941, the military decided that an inland training location was preferred, to the current Ryan School of Aeronautics in San Diego, California, founded by aviation pioneer T. Claude Ryan and Tucson was chosen as the site.

Ground was broken in June 1942 for the new Ryan School of Aeronautics of Arizona under the direction of the U.S. Army Air Forces, located about 15 miles southwest of Tucson, along the Ajo Highway.

By August 1942, the institution with its half-completed buildings and roofless offices, was training aviators in the Ryan P-22 aircraft, which functioned surprisingly well in the heat, wind and dust storms, although crashes did occur at the school, at times, leading to death in certain incidents.

Significant infrastructure improvements and major maintenance projects are accomplished continuously, as is private and commercial hangar construction.

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 107,947 aircraft operations, an average of 296 per day: 95% general aviation, 5% military, and <1% air taxi.