The idea for an airport in Guanacaste Province was conceived during the government of Daniel Oduber Quirós (1974–1978). The airport was initially named "Llano Grande", after the surrounding area, then renamed "Aeropuerto Tomas Guardia," and finally honor Quirós for his work for the province of Guanacaste. Today, most people call it "Liberia International Airport", and in 2021 the name was changed to Guanacaste Airport for branding purposes.

In October 1995, the airport was re-inaugurated as an international airport. To support this expansion of operations, the pavement on the runway was redone and special landing lights were installed. Also a firefighter station was added to comply with FAA and international regulations. Initial response from commercial airlines to the expansion was timid; after one year, however, the airport went from having only one weekly charter flight to one almost every day.

In 2006, to manage increased demand of the airport, the government and local tourism chamber boards set aside funds to increase the parking capacity of the tarmac from five to eight airplanes, and for the construction of a parallel taxiway. The government made it clear that the solutions were only temporary and that a private company would need to be contracted to expand and operate the airport in the future. Also in 2007 a new waiting area and airport counters were opened, the airport was by then receiving more than 180,000 visitors yearly.