This airport served this city with daily flights to San Juan in Puerto Rico, Port-au-Prince in Haiti, Santiago de Cuba, Miami and others.

This airport was built in the 1930s, during Trujillo's government, with the major purpose of stimulating the city's growth.

In the 1990s, another Dominican airline, Dominair, started operations in the airport, with two daily flights to San Juan.

In 1999 American Eagle started, for the first time, operations in Santiago, adding two daily flights to San Juan, making Dominair to leave the route.

The industrialists of Santiago have defended the project since it is considered to be a solution to the lack of green spaces suitable for relaxation in the city.