The airport served as a base for ECOMOG troops during the Liberian Civil War and suffered damage during that conflict, including a rocket attack by rebels in April 1996 which destroyed several aircraft.

The carrier established a significant operation at Spriggs-Payne, with weekly services to Freetown, Sierra Leone; Conakry, Guinea, and Banjul, The Gambia with connections to onward destinations such as Lagos, Nigeria and Douala, Cameroon.

Later in 2010, Ethiopian Airlines changed its operations to Liberia, withdrawing its mainline jet services from Robertsfield to Accra and Addis Ababa.

[4] In January 2011, newly formed Fly 6ix, initially designated as the new national airline of Sierra Leone[5] began operating from Freetown with a single Embraer ERJ-135 regional jet.

[citation needed] As of November 2014, Spriggs Payne Airport were suspended due to the ongoing ebola outbreak in Liberia.