Early years

The airport was first conceived in 1974 as part of the government's modernization plans. At the time, Al Bateen Executive Airport (then called Abu Dhabi International Airport) was the main international airport (in addition to Abu Dhabi Airfield). Access was difficult as it was located on Abu Dhabi Island which was connected to the mainland by only one bridge. Also, the city was growing, making it harder for the airport to expand. During the late 1970s, a more accessible location was found. Construction started in 1979 and the airport was inaugurated on 2 January 1982. Gulf Air, then a quadri-national airline, chose the airport as one of its four hubs.

The new airport included a circular satellite terminal (with aerobridges) with a single connection to a semi-circular terminal.

Development since the 2000s

In 2003, Etihad Airways was founded via a royal decree by UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and became the new airline based in the airport. The UAE government later ended its ownership of Gulf Air in 2005; previous Gulf Air CEO James Hogan was appointed as Etihad's new CEO.

Terminal 2 was opened in September 2005 to ease pressure on the main terminal. Terminal 2 did not have aerobridges and utilised buses to move passengers between aircraft and the terminal building. A second runway (Runway 13L/31R) was opened in October 2008 to cater to increased traffic. Terminal 3 was opened in January 2009. It was primarily used by Etihad Airways. The new Terminal 3, a AED 1 billion (US$270 million) interim facility, was designed to allow for the airport's passenger growth before the planned opening of the new Midfield Terminal in December 2017 (which was eventually opened in November 2023). Used predominantly by Etihad Airways, the terminal boosted the airport's seven million passenger per year capacity to 12 million. It also added 10 new gates, two of which are Airbus A380 compatible.

During the airport's early years of operation, there was no way of getting to the airport except for private vehicle or taxis. With the creation of Abu Dhabi's bus network in the late 2000s and 2010s, city-to-airport bus services were introduced.

In December 2011, the government of Abu Dhabi signed a letter of intent to build a United States border preclearance facility similar to pre-clearance customs facilities in Canada, Aruba, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Ireland. Etihad operated its first flight to the U.S. from the facility on 25 January 2014. The airport celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012.

Rotana Jet was another airline based at the airport; however, it suspended all flights indefinitely in 2017.

On 26 July 2018, Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen claimed to have launched a drone attack at the airport. The UAE had stated earlier that there was an incident involving a truck which did not disrupt flights or cause any delays. The UAE denied any drones had reached the UAE and reported that the airport was running as usual. In 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that a Houthi drone had exploded at the airport. In May 2019, the Houthi-run Almasirah TV channel broadcast footage of what they claimed was an attack on the airport. Two other alleged claims of a drone attack on the airport were reported by the Houthis, as well as two attacks on Dubai International Airport. An investigation by Bellingcat concluded that it was highly unlikely that a Houthi-led drone attack took place or reached Abu Dhabi or Dubai in July 2018.