Early in 1940, Macon's Chamber of Commerce began a campaign to bring war industries and defense installations to the city. Negotiations with the Army Air Corps resulted in a tract of land in a highly developed agricultural area nine miles (14 km) south of the City known as Avondale being selected by the Air Corps.

The City of Macon and Bibb County obtained options on the desired tracts of land. Once the Army Air Corps finally decided to build an airbase at the site, it required the base be built as soon as possible. An informal agreement with the Army stipulated that when the War Department had no further use for the property, the deed would revert to the City and the County.

On August 17, 1941, the first class of British Royal Air Force cadets arrived at Cochran Field under the Arnold Scheme. Until June 1942, Cochran was used exclusively for British training. With the last British class graduating in early 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 27th Flying Training Wing (Basic) at Cochran and assigned it to the (redesignated) AAF Eastern Flying Training Command as a flying training unit. Peak training took place during 1943. From the beginning of 1944 flight training steadily diminished. The Air Force inactivated the base on 15 December 1945.

Following the war, Cochran was utilized for various purposes. Smart Field remained as Macon's municipal airport until 1947. After a tornado swept Smart Field, the airlines moved their operations to Cochran where they remain to this day. The passenger terminal was built in 1959 and extensively renovated in 2003.

The two Army built hangars still exist along with a few old warehouses. The Air Force at one time had a presence at the airport, hosting the 202d Engineering Installation Squadron, a non-flying engineering unit of the Georgia Air National Guard. However, this unit was relocated to nearby Robins AFB at the end of Fiscal Year 2011 pursuant to BRAC action.

All areas in Bibb County became a part of the Macon city limits effective January 1, 2014, due to the consolidation of the Macon and Bibb County governments. Previously the airport was in an unincorporated area.

In June 2019, Brazilian regional jet manufacturer Embraer announced it would open a repair and maintenance facility for its ERJ and E-Jet commercial aircraft at the airport, in a hangar previously occupied by HAECO.

Middle Georgia Regional Airport has also previously been known as Lewis B. Wilson Municipal Airport (named for the mayor of Macon between 1948 and 1953), Macon Municipal Airport, and Cochran Field.

Hawaiian Air Cargo

From 1976 to 1977 and again from 1978 to 1980, Hawaiian Airlines had a mainland air cargo division called Hawaiian Air Cargo based at the airport, focused on the United States Air Force Logair domestic cargo program. Warner Robins Air Force Base was a major point on the Logair network, so Macon was convenient. Hawaiian used Lockheed L-188 Electra freighter aircraft. The airline won an Air Force contract for 1976–1977, but then lost the lease of the aircraft it was using and was unable to bid for 1977–1978. In 1978 Hawaiian tried once more with a new batch of aircraft. Hawaiian Air Cargo operated again 1978–1980. During this second stint, the airport built a hangar for Hawaiian. But in 1980, Hawaiian sold the operation to Zantop International Airlines.

Zantop International Airlines

Zantop International Airlines, (ZIA) a cargo airline based in Ypsilanti, Michigan near Detroit, had a maintenance base at the airport until 1997, after buying out Hawaiian's cargo division. ZIA operated for Logair until 1991, when it lost the contract. In 1982, a windstorm collapsed the ZIA hangar, crushing two Lockheed Electra aircraft. The hangar was rebuilt, but larger, the next year. ZIA's presence at the airport survived the loss of its Logair contract, and in 1996, ZIA gained a contract with ValuJet to perform C-checks at the airport. However, ZIA sold its Macon operations in 1997.

History of commercial service

Commercial airlines historically serving the airport included Delta Air Lines and Eastern Airlines, both beginning in the 1940s using Douglas DC-3 aircraft. Both carriers later upgraded with Convair 440 aircraft and during the 1970s decade both carriers operated McDonnell Douglas DC-9 jets from Macon on flights to Atlanta. Eastern ended their service in 1979 and Delta transferred their service to Atlantic Southeast Airlines operating as Delta Connection in the mid-1980s. Eastern Express operated by Metro Airlines on behalf of Eastern Airlines brought back a return of Eastern service in late 1986. Both carriers provided service to Atlanta using a variety of commuter prop aircraft. In 1988 Piedmont Commuter operated by CCAir began service to Charlotte using Jetstream 31 prop aircraft. In 1989 Piedmont Airlines was merged into USAir at which time Piedmont Commuter became USAir Express. Eastern Airlines went out of business in early 1991 discontinuing its Eastern Express service while USAir Express discontinued service at nearly the same time. Delta Connection, operated by ASA, continued service until October 1, 2007.