1915–1917: Base for German zeppelins

The first air base in Timiș County was operational between November 1915 and April 1917, on the communal grassland of Dudeștii Noi and Sânandrei. It was a German military air base, used for stationing, loading and repairing zeppelins. It featured access roads and railway lines for transport to the base, barracks for technical and navigational staff, a Telefunken radio station, a hydrogen production facility, and a massive hangar measuring 180 meters in length and 34 meters in width. The hangar was constructed on a metal frame with a triangular cross-section.

During World War I, zeppelins erected from the base in Dudeștii Noi bombed Bucharest, Ploiești, Chișinău and Thessaloniki. After the closure of this air base, in 1919, the villagers tried to dismantle it piece by piece, but the metal framework of the hall that once housed the German zeppelins collapsed on them, and five people died.

1935: First civil airport

Timișoara's first civil airport was put into use on 10 July 1935, based on a telegraphic order of the Ministry of Interior. It was located on the training ground of the Military Garrison, approximately on the current site of Iulius Town. The first aircraft landed here on 17 July 1935. The official inauguration of the temporary airport took place on 20 July 1935. At the time of its establishment, it had no material endowment. The airport's technical building was made of planks and tarred cardboard and had three rooms and a stove. One room was for the commander, another for the traffic and administrative offices, and the third room served as a waiting room.

On 27 July 1936, following a protocol concluded between the authorities and the airport commander, it was decided to allocate a fund of approximately 5 million lei for the construction of a definitive airport. The money was destined for the construction of a terminal, a hangar and two other buildings that were to serve as radio and telegraph stations, located in the Cioca plainfield. The winner of the auction was the firm of architectural engineer August Schmiedigen from Bucharest, for the amount of 4.5 million lei. During the project, flights to and from Timișoara were further taken over by the temporary airport. On 23 September 1936, the first excavations were carried out at the foundations. The construction of the terminal was completed in 1938, lacking the connections to electricity, telephone, water, sewage, etc. The construction of radio and telegraph stations was completed in the same period, lacking only the necessary equipment. The auction was deemed suspicious, reason why the Superior Administrative Court annulled its adjudication and, consequently, decided to suspend the works.

In 1941, the airport administration relocated to the Cioca plainfield, and flights also took place here. Until its dissolution in 1864–1865, the village of Cioca, known in Hungarian as Csoka, was located on the site of the airport. Due to difficulties in financing the works and the improper soil (clay soil, standing water), the project of relocating the airport was abandoned, and the structures already built were ceded to the Central Meteorological Institute. The Cioca Airfield is used today by owners of recreational aircraft, as well as by utility aviation.

Since 1942, the airport has operated on a 91-hectare plot of land in Moșnița Nouă. The land was used by the airport based on a protocol declaring it an area of military interest. The runway had a maximum length of 1,200 m and a width of 600 m. As of 1944, there was a 9 × 5-meter plank cabin with three rooms: a commander's office, a weather office and a registry, administration and archive office. There were also a plank shed covered with makeshift tiles and a 20 × 8-meter shack, brought from Deta. It had no radio or telephone, and the lighting consisted of 27 oil lamps.

1976–1989: First external flights

Between 1952 and 1953, the construction and commissioning of the runway for the needs of the Military Aviation Unit near Giarmata-Vii took place. In the 1960s, Timișoara became an increasingly important economic center, so the decision was made to build a large civil airport on its current location, between the communes of Giarmata, Ghiroda and Remetea Mare. The domestic terminal was inaugurated on 28 February 1964. Between 1964 and 1965, the runway was extended by 500 m (from 2,000 m to 2,500 m).

In the mid-1970s, the Bucharest administration decided to modernize the Timișoara Airport. As the airport at that time could not meet the strategic military needs (its location at the western border of Romania), but also the increase in the number of passengers and civil air traffic (the introduction of international flights was desired), the decision was made to modernize and expand the airport by a state decree in 1976. Between 1977 and 1979, during the works, the air traffic in the area was taken over by Arad Airport, the transport of passengers from Arad to Timișoara and back being carried out with Timișoara Airport's own means.