The Manchester airport was founded in June 1927, when the city's Board of Mayor and Aldermen put $15,000 towards the project. By October, a board of aviation had been founded, and ground was broken at an 84-acre (34 ha) site near Pine Island Pond. It took only a month for two 1,800-foot (550 m) runways to be constructed. The board of aviation convinced George G. "Scotty" Wilson, a barnstormer operating out of Boston, to move to New Hampshire and start Manchester's first flying service. After the formation of Northeast Airways at the site in 1933, the first passenger terminal was built.

In 1940, as the U.S. entered World War II, the airport was chosen as an Army Air Force base. At its peak, some 6,000 troops were stationed there, including the 45th Bombardment Group – which practiced bombing runs on what is now New Boston Air Force Station – and an anti-submarine squadron that destroyed at least two Nazi subs off the U.S. Atlantic coast. It was renamed Grenier Field after Manchester native Lt. Jean B. Grenier, who died in a training mission in 1934. Civilian use returned in 1951 when Northeast Airways resumed flights.

The current Manchester airport began to take shape as a joint civil-military facility in the 1960s. A new civilian terminal and the first modern air traffic control tower in New Hampshire were constructed in 1961. Businessman Roscoe A. Ammon donated $500,000 for the construction of the new air terminal. In 1966, the Air Force removed its remaining forces and closed Grenier Air Force Base, leaving the airport open for expansion. In 1978 the airfield was renamed Manchester Airport.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the airport was served by Northeast Airlines with the Convair CV-240, Douglas DC-9, and Fokker FH-227. Delta Air Lines absorbed Northeast in 1972 and continued to serve the airport with the DC-9 until 1978, then Boeing 727-200s until 1980 when it discontinued service at Manchester.

In the mid-1980s, airlines once again started offering jet service out of Manchester. United Airlines inaugurated service at Manchester in 1983 with two daily flights to Chicago–O'Hare. This was part of their 50 States campaign, which positioned United as the only carrier to serve all 50 states with mainline service. The Boeing 727 and Boeing 737 were initially used on the Chicago flights, which would often make intermediate stops in cities like Providence, Albany, Syracuse, and Burlington to pick up or drop off passengers. Manchester was also a "tag-on" for United flights heading from Bangor and Portland, Maine, to Chicago, but the carrier no longer serves either city with mainline aircraft.

In the early 1990s, United Airlines began flights between Manchester and Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. But creation of a north–south hub at Dulles did not work for United, and heavy competition in this market led to a quick exit. The Boeing 737 was used for this short-lived service, which comprised about four daily circuits between the two airports. US Airways started service at Manchester in early 1986, by connecting their hubs at Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The carrier used the DC-9, BAC 111, and 737-200 aircraft. Both carriers expanded service at Manchester over the years with larger planes and more flights. United now runs a strict non-stop schedule to and from Chicago with no intermediate stops or tag-ons. The 757 has been used by both United and US Airways at Manchester, which stands as the largest passenger-carrying plane to serve the airport in scheduled service. The Airbus A320 series of aircraft is also commonly used by United, Northwest Airlines (merged with Delta Air Lines), and occasionally by US Airways. In April 2010, Delta enhanced service to Manchester; it dropped its daily CRJ-700 service to Atlanta and replaced the aircraft with an MD-88 with seating for 149. Delta also switched all its Delta Connection service to Detroit with mainline service on DC-9's. On October 7, 2021, Spirit Airlines began serving Manchester with the Airbus A320, making it one of 3 airlines regularly serving Manchester with mainline aircraft. Southwest serves Manchester with the Boeing 737-700 and the Boeing 737-800. American flies the Airbus A319/20 from Charlotte.

Expansion

In 1992, a long-term expansion and improvement plan started to take shape. Two years later, a new 158,000-square-foot (14,700 m2) terminal designed by HNTB and Lavallee Brensinger opened, providing ample room for larger jets. The airport continued to expand, opening a new parking garage and parking lots in the next years, as well as working to reconstruct the runways and taxiways. In 1998, these expansions paid off, with MetroJet, Northwest, and Southwest all beginning service. The airport prospered from the "Southwest Effect", in which competing airlines increase service and decrease fares to compete with the low-cost carrier. Throughout the 1990s, Manchester outpaced almost every other similarly sized airport in terms of passenger growth.