Early years

Melbourne International Airport began in 1928 when a Pitcairn Aircraft landed on a cow pasture strip north of Kissimmee Highway. Airmail service started in late 1928 when the airport was designated a fueling stop. In 1933 the City of Melbourne acquired 160 acres (65 ha) west of Indian River Bluff to develop as a new airport, which was further developed and operated as Naval Air Station Melbourne during World War II.

Returned to the city as a Surplus Property Airport after the War, Melbourne Airport was deeded to the city in 1947. It was a municipal airport until 1967 when the city created the Melbourne Airport Authority to plan, operate, maintain, and develop the airport, then called Melbourne Municipal Airport. The name was Cape Kennedy Regional Airport and city officials changed the name to Melbourne Regional Airport in 1973 to better reflect its role.

In January 1951, the airport had runways 04/22, 09/27, 13/31 and 16/34, all being listed as being 4,000 to 4,300 feet (1,200 to 1,300 m) long. Scheduled airline flights began in 1953. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide listed four Eastern Airlines departures, Martin 4-0-4s to Vero Beach, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville. National Airlines arrived in 1959 with Douglas DC-6Bs and scheduled the first jet airliner flights in 1963: Douglas DC-8s Miami–Melbourne–New Orleans–Houston–Los Angeles and Los Angeles–Houston–Melbourne–Miami.

In 1960, Meadowlane Elementary School first opened at a Naval hospital on the airport grounds. The school moved to West Melbourne in 1961. In 1969, a National DC-8 flew Los Angeles–Tampa–Melbourne–Miami. Houston and Los Angeles figured in NASA's space program, and Melbourne was close to the NASA Kennedy Space Center. In July 1974 a National Boeing 727 flew Miami–Melbourne–Tampa–New Orleans–Los Angeles–San Diego; National Boeing 727-200s flew direct Houston and New Orleans to Melbourne. In May 1979 National had one flight a day from Melbourne, a 727-200 to Tampa.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Eastern Airlines Boeing 727s, Douglas DC-9s and Lockheed Electras flew out of the airport. In June 1967 Eastern announced "The Space Corridor" from Melbourne to three centers in the space program: Huntsville, Alabama, St. Louis and Seattle. Eastern's "Space Corridor" was a Melbourne-Orlando-Huntsville-St. Louis-Seattle Boeing 727-100. In June 1967 Eastern flew nonstop Melbourne to Atlanta, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale and direct to New York City (JFK Airport), Washington, D.C. (Dulles Airport), Boston and Miami. In February 1976 Eastern flew a 727 direct Los Angeles to Melbourne via Atlanta; Eastern eventually dropped Melbourne upon the airlines closure in 1991.

In the early 1980s some ending scenes for the film Stranger Than Paradise were shot in the Melbourne area, including several plot scenes shot at the airport (as listed in the credits).People Express Airlines started nonstops to Newark, Baltimore, Columbus and Buffalo, New York in spring 1982 with Boeing 737 jets. They eventually scaled back to just nonstops to Newark and ended service to MLB in 1986. Delta Air Lines started nonstops to Atlanta in 1983 with DC-9s and upgraded to Boeing 737s and MD-80s. In 1999 Spirit Airlines began commercial service to the airport. Presidential Airways had nonstop flights to Daytona Beach and Washington, DC (Dulles) with Boeing 737s and BAE-146 Jets. American Airlines served Melbourne with flights to Raleigh/Durham on MD-80 jets and Continental flew to Newark Liberty with 727 and 737 aircraft.

The Authority operated a recreational vehicle site, "Port O' Call". This was closed and the tenants evicted in 2003. The intent was to use the property for commercial development. The Melbourne Airport Authority operates Tropical Haven (formerly Trailer Haven), a 760-site manufactured home park.

Development since the 2010s

In 2010, the airport had nonstop flights to Atlanta on Delta Air Lines and regional partner Atlantic Southeast Airlines, as well as nonstops to Charlotte Douglas International Airport on US Airways' regional subsidiary PSA Airlines. These flights continue on Delta and American. Delta used to fly nonstop from Melbourne to its hubs in Cincinnati; New York–Kennedy and New York–La Guardia; and to Washington–Dulles and Washington–Reagan, though all of this was discontinued. USA3000 Airlines briefly served Melbourne with flights to Baltimore/Washington. Direct Air flew to Niagara Falls, New York, and Punta Gorda, Florida, with 737 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets.

Elite Airways began operating at the airport in 2014 with flights to Washington Dulles International Airport.

In 2015, there were an estimated 15,000 paid attendees to the annual air show over a two-day weekend.

The airport's first scheduled international service was announced by Porter Airlines in September 2015 to Toronto's island airport.