The airport was built by the French in 1937. At first it included a 1,400 m × 30 m (4,593 ft × 98 ft) landing strip, aprons and fuel storage. In 1994, the Vietnamese government invested 20 billion VND to renovate the airport to receive commercial flights. In 1995, the Hanoi - Vinh - Da Nang flight route was inaugurated.

During 2001 — 2003, the airport saw a major upgrade to its infrastructure. The runway was extended to 2,400 m × 45 m (7,874 ft × 148 ft).

A new passenger terminal was constructed in 2014 and opened in 2015, serving domestic flights. The old terminal was converted to a temporary international terminal. In 2019, renovations to the old terminal were completed for it to be fully capable of handling international flights and bigger aircraft.

International flights

International services at the airport commenced in 2014 with scheduled flights by Vietnam Airlines to Vientiane, Laos using ATR 72 airplanes. Despite a strong demand on road between Vinh and Vientiane with up to 180,000 people passing through border ports in Nghe An province annually, the air service only saw 50% load factor against a 10,000-seat annual capacity. Vietnam Airlines reported a $750,000 loss on the route in 2014. The route was ended on October 25, 2015.

In June 2016, Vietnamese travel agency Vietravel introduced charter service between Vinh and Bangkok, Thailand using Airbus A320 and A321, but the service was ended by June 2017 due to insufficient infrastructure at Vinh Airport. The service was reintroduced in February 2019 when the renovated international terminal at the airport was inaugurated.