The airport first opened on 11 June 1968. The first commercial route was established with Madrid and soon after another route came into operation, which linked Santiago de Compostela with Barcelona via Asturias and Bilbao. In 1980, the airport underwent its first major expansion in preparation for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. In 1982, the aircraft parking platform doubled in size. An additional five check-in desks were added to the existing ones. Two boarding gates and two arrival gates, a new cafeteria-restaurant and several shops were also new additions. Further improvements occurred in 1994 and 2000 which included upgrading of the building and expansion of the apron. In 2003, a series of improvements were made to the airport, that would enable it to handle a higher volume of passengers and aircraft traffic. Construction work on adding a second floor to the airport, that was accessible to passengers, was completed, and three jet bridges were also installed, allowing passengers to embark directly from the terminal building onto the aircraft.