The idea of constructing an international airport in Pokhara was first proposed in 1971. In 1976, the Government of Nepal acquired land for the project. In 1989, the Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted a feasibility study. However, the project stalled and was only reinstated in 2009 following a new air travel agreement between India and Nepal.

In 2013, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal signed an agreement with China CAMC Engineering for the construction of the airport. Construction began in April 2016 and was expected to be completed after five years in 2021, with an estimated cost of around US$305 million.The Export-Import Bank of China provided approximately US$215 million as a preferential loan to Nepal which included subsidizing part of the loan interest. Additionally, the Asian Development Bank contributed US$37 million in loans and grants while the OPEC Fund for International Development provided a US$11 million loan. The initial bid was nearly double Nepal's original projection, but the cost was later reduced by about 30 percent to US$216 million.

In April 2016, then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone of the airport, aiming to commence operations on 10 July 2021. In 2020, a proposal emerged to open both new international airports in Nepal, Pokhara and Gautam Buddha Airport, on the same day. However, it was revealed in 2020 that the nearby Rithepani Hill, located at the eastern end of the runway, needed to be flattened to facilitate aircraft approach. This decision faced severe protests from locals, delaying the flattening work until late 2022.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, the construction deadline was extended until 2022. In October 2021, officials confirmed that the airport would open in two phases: domestic flights would begin in January 2022, followed by international flights in April 2022.

In 2022, it was announced that calibration flights would begin in October 2022. They would later take place in late November 2022.

In mid-2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal pushed back the opening to December 2022 due to a lack of flight inspections. On 8 August 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal set the official opening date for 1 January 2023.

The airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on 1 January 2023. To celebrate the occasion, the city of Pokhara declared the day a public holiday. The first flight to arrive at the airport was a Buddha Air flight carrying the Prime Minister and his delegation.

Development of the airport continued immediately after the opening with an initial lack of customs facilities and a fuel depot — initially, fuel was being carried from the old Pokhara Airport on trucks. The airport was also opened before it was certified for IFR flights, a contributing factor to the crash of Yeti Airlines Flight 691 only one month later.

In June 2023, the airport saw its first international flight before which it only handled domestic services. The first international flight was a Sichuan Airlines flight from China in an Airbus A319. The flight was chartered and funded by China, and the passengers were Chinese athletes and officials who came for a good-will dragon-boat race.

Controversy

In October 2023, The New York Times reported concerns about Pokhara International Airport's construction, noting high costs and potential gaps in standard engineering practices, such as soil and rainfall considerations. A consultant suggested limited oversight contributed to costs being significantly higher than typical market estimates.

The airport was financed with a concessional loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, with about 25% of the loan interest-free and the remaining portion carrying an annual interest rate of around 2%, repayable over 20 years with a 7-year grace period. Despite the favorable terms, the airport's financial sustainability is uncertain. Himalaya Airlines launched a weekly scheduled flight between Pokhara and Lhasa on 31 March 2025 — the airport's first scheduled passenger service since opening — but the route had been suspended by mid-2026 due to low passenger numbers.. The project has been described as a potential debt risk. The Times of India compared it to Pakistan's Gwadar Port where Chinese loans remain outstanding despite limited commercial activity.

In November 2023, Nepal's Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, the country's anti-corruption agency, opened an investigation into the airport's construction. That investigation led to formal corruption charges at Nepal's Special Court. In December 2025, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a case against 55 individuals, including five former ministers and ten former secretaries, seeking recovery of over Rs8 billion from each defendant over alleged irregularities in the $215.96 million airport project. A separate case followed a week later against former project chief Binesh Munankarmi over assets disproportionate to his income.