The airport was constructed in 1986 to facilitate corporate and government officials. With an increasing number of passengers, AAI decided to upgrade the airport. On 17 July 2008, the Government of India officially renamed it Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport. It was granted international status in May 2012. The airport was constructed with the purpose of facilitating VVIPs. It was only in 2005 when the AAI took decision to upgrade the airport owing to an increased number of passengers, and also because of the introduction of private operators in the sector. A new terminal, equipped with the latest technology, at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, has been operative since 2 June 2012. It is used both for arrivals and departures of domestic and international flights. The new terminal is a three-tier building which can accommodate around 2000 passengers at a time.
Structure
;Landing amenities CCS International Airport has ILS CAT-III-B compliant for landing in bad weather and foggy conditions. Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Amritsar and Kolkata are the only airports in India with ILS CAT-III-B which helps flights land safely even with visibility as low as 50 metres.
Terminals
The airport has two operational terminals and one in the planning stage: ;Terminal 1
The original terminal, built to complement Charbagh Railway Station's architecture, is now used for international flights after the opening of Terminal 2. It has two arrival and three departing gates as well as two immigration counters.
;Terminal 2
The terminal was inaugurated by civil aviation minister Ajit Singh on 19 May 2012 before opening on 2 June 2012. With five boarding gates, Terminal 2 is used for domestic flights. Terminal 2 of Lucknow airport deals with huge passenger traffic every year. Air traffic growth has put some pressure on aerodromes as of 2017. Minister of State for Civil Aviation said, "project management consultant has been awarded for expansion of existing terminal building for an estimated cost of Rs 880 crore".
;Terminal 3
On 2 May 2018, Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Civil Aviation announced that a new terminal building will have a capacity to handle 24.6 million passengers annually and will be built at of INR 1383 crores.
On 25 February 2019, Adani Group was awarded with the operations and expansion of the existing as well as new terminal.
In 2018, Lucknow Airport was awarded the best airport in the category "Best Airport by Size and Region " by the Airports Council International.
The Passenger Terminal 2 Building's Architects, were awarded the NDTV-Grohe Infrastructure Architecture Design of the Year Award in 2014 for the project.
