Beginnings

RFD traces its history to 1917, when Camp Grant was established by the U.S. Army as one of the largest military training facilities in the United States. At the end of 1923, the Army closed Camp Grant as an active facility, transferring it to the Illinois National Guard. In 1941, the facility was reactivated by the Army. During World War II, Camp Grant served as one of the largest Army induction and training centers in the United States, training medical personnel, and serving as a prisoner of war confinement center. Following the end of the war, the facility served as a separation center. In 1946, Camp Grant was shut down for the second (and final) time.

Creation of airport and transition to civilian use

After World War II, Illinois adopted the Airport Authority Act; the Greater Rockford Airport Authority was created in 1946. In 1948, the Camp Grant land was officially transferred to the airport authority from the federal government. Of the 5,460 acres (plus a 6,000 acre rifle range) of Camp Grant, the airport authority acquired the western 1,500 acres of the facility, bordered by the Rock River to the north and the Kishwaukee River to the south. In 1954, construction commenced on the airport and terminal.

The airport demolished the final remaining Camp Grant buildings on the airport property in 1974.

Historical airline service

The first airline flights were on Mid-Continent Airlines in 1950. Successor Braniff pulled out in 1955, leaving Ozark, which had arrived in 1951. Ozark Douglas DC-9-10s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s flew nonstop to Chicago O'Hare Airport and direct to Denver in 1976. TWA flew Boeing 727s Rockford to Chicago O'Hare for a couple years starting in May 1980. McClain Airlines Boeing 727-100s flew nonstop to Chicago O'Hare. The original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) Boeing 737-200s served Rockford from 1984 until late 1986, nonstop to Cedar Rapids, Madison and Milwaukee and direct to Denver when the operation was transferred to Britt Airways, which flew turboprops for a short time.

For a period, Midway Airlines served Rockford with flights to Chicago Midway airport, until the airline went bankrupt in late 1991. Coleman Air Transport had a small hub at RFD in the late 1970s with Grumman Gulfstream Is and was planning to introduce Douglas DC-9-10 nonstop service to New York LaGuardia Airport before losing its operating certificate and going out of business.

Northwest Airlink served Detroit on and off from the 1980s until 2001, when it pulled out for good. Scheduled passenger service ended altogether in 2001, but resumed again in 2003.

Transmeridian Airlines briefly operated a leisure-oriented focus city at Rockford beginning in 2003.

Direct Air served the airport from 2007 until it shut down in March 2012. The current version of Frontier offered mainline service to Denver briefly in 2013. It also offered several charter flights, on behalf of Apple Vacations. United Express served Denver from Rockford from 2006 to 2008.

Arrival of Allegiant Airlines and current service

Allegiant Air began service between Rockford and Las Vegas in November 2005 and between Rockford and St. Petersburg-Clearwater in September 2006. In 2024/2025, Allegiant briefly had service from Rockford to Los Angeles LAX.

As of early 2026, Allegiant is the sole regularly scheduled airline with flights out of Rockford, with eight locations served (Las Vegas, Phoenix/Mesa, Nashville, and in Florida Orlando/Sanford, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Sarasota, Punta Gorda and Ft. Lauderdale.)

International service

In 2004, the airport became an official US port of entry and achieved international status.

Rockford has no regular airline service to foreign locations, but it does have charter services that go overseas. Apple Vacations offered scheduled flights to the vacation destinations of Cancún, Montego Bay, and Punta Cana for many years, through operators such as Norwegian Air Shuttle and TUI Airways.

International destinations direct from Rockford were suspended because of Covid-19 in 2020, but began again in January 2026, once again through Apple Vacations. These flights are offered seasonally using TUI Belgium aircraft, going to Cancún, and Huatulco in Mexico, as well as Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

Name of airport

Known for decades as the Greater Rockford Airport name changes were made starting in the 2000s. In an effort to capitalize on its location (less than 90 miles (145 km) from downtown Chicago and about 30 miles (48 km) from the outermost Chicago suburbs), the airport underwent several name changes, initially changing to the Northwest Chicagoland Regional Airport at Rockford. When the airport achieved international status in 2004 it was renamed again, becoming the Chicago/Rockford International Airport (the slash was removed in 2007), bringing it in line with the two original "Chicago" airports (O'Hare and Midway).