In 1935, the Tauranga Aero Club leased land adjacent to Tauranga Harbour in Mount Maunganui to establish an aerodrome. Up until then, the only airfield serving the town was a runway on the eastern side of the Waikareao Estuary which was only usable during low tide, and it was deemed that a permanent facility was going to be necessary in order to cater for growing demand in the region. The airport opened in 1939 to great celebrations and, later the same year, it was taken over by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, due to the onset of World War II. During the period of military use, the runways were extended and a hangar was constructed, and the airport was predominantly used as a training station for pilots. The airport was returned to the Tauranga Aero Club in 1945, and in 1946 the club began passenger flights from Tauranga to Mōtītī Island, and later added flights to Matakana Island. In 1947, the New Zealand National Airways Corporation, commonly known as NAC, began passenger flights to the airport.

From June 1966 until August 1967, the main runway was closed for sealing and throughout this period larger aircraft, including those operated by NAC, were unable to serve the airport. During the closure, Adastra Aviation operated fights from Tauranga to Auckland and Rotorua using aircraft small enough to use the secondary runways. When the sealing work was completed in August 1967, NAC flew Fokker Friendship aircraft to Tauranga for the first time. In 1978, Air New Zealand took over passenger services to the airport, after merging with NAC.

In 1998, the airport, now under the ownership of the Tauranga District Council, extended its runway to the east to reach its current length of 1,825m. In the following years, the terminal was enlarged and upgraded, with a second storey added containing a Koru Club regional lounge and a conference room.

In March 2000, Origin Pacific Airways commenced flights between Tauranga and Auckland with 19-seat BAE Jetstream 32 aircraft. From September 2002, following several reductions in frequency, this service was replaced by flights to Hamilton, where passengers could connect to other Origin Pacific Airways flights to destinations including Auckland and Wellington. Eventually this service too was cut; but in June 2006, Origin Pacific Airways returned to Tauranga with services to Christchurch with 28-seat BAE Jetstream 41 aircraft. This was the airport's first regular non-stop flight to the South Island, but it ceased two months after its commencement, in August 2006, when Origin Pacific Airways ended its passenger services.

In October 2007, Air New Zealand launched flights to Christchurch, operated by its subsidiary Air Nelson, to supplement its existing flights to Auckland and Wellington which were operated by both Air Nelson and Eagle Airways. Those subsidiaries were operated by 50-seat Bombardier Q300 and 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft. Air New Zealand used to operate 33-seat Saab 340A aircraft from Auckland and Wellington but then the Saab 340A was replaced by the Bombardier Q300.

In 2010, the airport undertook a further expansion of the terminal which took 6 months, and included larger check in and baggage claim areas as well as an expansion of the terminal by 830 square metres. The apron was also expanded to allow a fourth parking spot for overnight aircraft. In January 2013, Air New Zealand started using its subsidiary Mount Cook Airlines, which operates 68 seat ATR 72 aircraft on selected flights. During 2016, the short lived Kiwi Regional Airlines served Tauranga from Dunedin via Nelson with 34-seat Saab 340A aircraft.

In June 2022, Barrier Air announced a new air service from Tauranga to Great Barrier Island which commenced in December; the route is operated using a Cessna Grand Caravan airplane.