Prior to the existence of the airport, the region was served by Cambridge Airport, a small airport located close to the existing site. As air travel became more frequent and the number of flights increased, it was clear that Cambridge airport was only suitable for light aircraft. In June 1948, Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced the construction of a new AU£760,000 airport at Llanherne. With Australia's continual interest in Antarctica, it was believed the southernmost airport of Australia would serve as an ideal base for heavy aircraft serving the region. Hobart Airport was commissioned in 1956 as the primary regular public transport airport. It was initially named Llanherne Airport, after the property on which it was built, but the name has since fallen into disuse. In its first full year of operation, the airport processed 120,086 passengers and 11,724 tonnes of freight, ranking fifth in Australia. By 1957, the airport's infrastructure comprised a small terminal building which remains at the south-eastern end of the current terminal, two freight hangars, a fuel depot, a timber weather station, and the airport administration office and works compound. In 1964, the Federal Government upgraded and lengthened the runway to cater for jet aircraft. The runway was extended again in 1985 to cater for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Antonov 124 (albeit to a limited operating range). The current domestic terminal building was officially opened on 28 July 1976 and the international terminal building in 1986. The Federal Government corporatised the airport in January 1988 with the establishment of the Federal Airports Corporation. In June 1998, Hobart Airport was privatised, with a 99-year lease purchased by a consortium of Hobart Ports Corporation, Hambros Australia and Airport Group International. In 2004, the domestic terminal was redeveloped for the first time in its 30-year history. This development involved modernising the terminal, moving the retail shops to within the security screening area, realignment of the car park and moving the car rental facilities to a new building in the car park. In 2005, Hobart Airport experienced record annual passenger numbers and it was decided to bring forward plans to upgrade the seating capacity of the airport. This work expanded the domestic terminal building over the tarmac by three metres to provide more departure lounge space. In December 2007, the Tasmanian Government sold the TasPorts owned subsidiary for $350 million to the Tasmanian Gateway Consortium, a private consortium made up of Macquarie Capital (one of Macquarie Group's infrastructure funds) and Tasmania's public sector superannuation fund, the Tasplan. The sale was in line with other state capital airport sell-offs, and Hobart airport was the last capital city airport remaining under government control. In October 2019, Macquarie Capital sold its stake to Queensland Investment Corporation and Schiphol Group. In February 2024, Hutchinson Builders began work to double the size of the terminal. In July 2024, work began to upgrade the runway to accommodate Airbus A350 and Boeing 787s. The runway upgrade was completed in August 2025.