[4] The facility is a commercial, general aviation, and cargo airport on the site of the former San Bernardino Municipal Airport, which was converted during World War II into the San Bernardino Air Depot in 1942 and which was subsequently renamed, "Norton Air Force Base", before being decommissioned with the fall of the Soviet Union.

San Bernardino International Airport was built to conform to aviation-demand modeling and allocations performed as part of the 2008 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the Metropolitan Planning Organization for San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, Imperial, and Orange counties.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is currently performing alternatives analysis regarding the Los Angeles-to-San Diego segment, which includes, along the I-215 alignment, an optional station location at Rialto Avenue and E Street in the city of San Bernardino.

An audit completed June 2011 at the request of a grand jury investigation found examples of potential mismanagement and financial irregularities.

[8] Volaris, a Mexican low-cost airline, announced the beginning of flights to Guadalajara, Mexico in November 2017; however, these plans were later cancelled.