Although the site had been laid out as an aerodrome since the late 1930s, it was not until 1963 that construction to allow regular passenger flights to Sydney and Melbourne was completed, with the first flights arriving on 16 December that year. The airport was officially opened by the Minister for National Development David Fairbairn on 13 September 1964. The late 1970s and early 80s were a period of rapid growth at Albury airport, which benefited from expansion fuelled by the Albury-Wodonga National Growth Centre project. Upgrades to the runway were completed at this time to permit the operation of regional jet aircraft such as the Fokker F28. A control tower and new terminal were constructed and passenger numbers almost doubled between 1983 and 1986. The main carriers serving Albury at this time included East-West, Air NSW and Kendell Airlines. The airport funded further expansion with funds from landing and departure fees, levied at $1.50 per passenger. Further extensions to the passenger terminal to incorporate new security screening facilities were completed in 2009 at a cost of around $5 million.
Airlines and destinations
The airport is serviced twice daily by Virgin Australia who use 68-seat ATR-72s to Sydney; QantasLink who use a combination of 50 seat Dash 8-300s and 74 seat Dash 8-400s to Sydney; Regional Express who use 36 seat Saab 340s on services to Sydney and Melbourne. JETGO Australia introduced jet services to Brisbane in June 2016 using 36-seat Embraer ERJ-135LRs, expanding to two weekly return flights to the Gold Coast from 29 June 2017. JETGO Australia's services later ceased after the company entered voluntary administration on 1 June 2018. Previously, jet services had been operated by Virgin Australia, which launched services to Albury on 5 February 2008 with double-daily flights using Embraer 170s before the type was phased out of their fleet. During the 1980s and early 90s, East–West served Albury with Fokker F28 jets. Brindabella Airlines provided a direct service to Canberra, but this ended controversially in 2012 when the airline cited an expected increase in operating costs due to the implementation of the a Carbon pricing scheme by set to be introduced by the Gillard Government. The airport is also served by charter, freight, agricultural, and general aviation aircraft. Until 4 March 2002 Kendell Airlines served Albury, flying to Sydney and Melbourne.
