The Qionghai airport was built to facilitate travel to the
Boao Forum for Asia, an annual political event held away in
Boao. The airport also serves rising tourism to the province of
Hainan. followed by the master plan in May 2013. A
groundbreaking ceremony was held on 17 March 2015. the airport received its first commercial flight a
Hainan Airlines Boeing 737 from
Beijing on 17 March 2016. For a short period thereafter, the airport remained open to domestic charter flights carrying Boao Forum attendees. After the forum, the Qionghai airport closed so that a new international terminal and a runway extension could be completed before the next forum. The airport reopened on 29 December 2016, receiving an
Air Guilin flight from
Guilin. The airport was approved to be an international airport and was renamed "Qionghai Bo'ao International Airport" in April 2024. As of 2025, the airport does not serve international routes and it only serves domestic flights. Previously, other international carriers which operate at the airport such as
Batik Air Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur and
Aero K to Seoul. ==Facilities==