1958
Proposal presented to the legislative delegations of Greenville and Spartanburg Counties to build a $5,500,000 airport.

1961
Ground-breaking ceremony was held at 11:00 AM on July 7th.

1962
Airport opened October 15, becoming the first non-military airport to have runway center line lighting system.

1970
Air freight building constructed, providing facilities for air cargo and cargo brokers. United States Customs Office established.

1973-74
Rental car service center constructed, allowing quicker turn-around for rental cars and increasing number of cars available to the public. The South concourse was extended for additional passenger waiting area.

1977
The runway was strengthened to accommodate larger aircraft.

1980
The airfreight building was expanded to 40,000 square feet.

1983
The South concourse was extended by 500 feet for airline operations. The airline passenger area was expanded by 1, 800 square feet and three gate positions were added.

1984
New parking lot added, increasing total parking to 1,500.

1986
The airport fire station was expanded.

1987
The air carrier apron was expanded by 234,750 square feet. Space became available for additional gate positions.

1988
A parking garage was constructed adding 1,600 new parking spaces. Total parking more than 3,000.

1989
An expansion project increases airport terminal and passenger waiting area by 140,000 square feet. Boarding bridges added for passenger access. Total available gates increased to 13. New lounge and dining facilities added. A travel agency is located inside the terminal building.

1994
The National Weather Service located at GSP was upgraded with a $3.5 Million NEXRAD Doppler Radar Center. The NWS is responsible for weather forecast and storm warnings for forty-six surrounding counties in the Upstate, Georgia and Western North Carolina.

1995
The runway was extended from 7,600 feet to 9,000 feet. The airport’s name was changed to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. The airport has international status because it houses two Federal Inspection Stations (FIS) consisting of Customs, Immigration and Agriculture. Two hundred fifty international passengers per hour can be cleared through Customs at GSP.

1998
The second parking garage was constructed adding 1500 new parking spaces bringing the total number of parking spaces to 4500.

1999
The second runway expansion project was completed. The runway is now 11,001 feet.

2001
Opened 13,000 square feet of new terminal space. This area was constructed in 1990 but was not needed until 2001 due to airline expansion. This new space increased the available number of boarding gates to 13.

Completed ramp and taxilane rehabilitation and expansion.

Constructed a new 110,000 square foot FedEx facility.

Constructed 5 new rental car service facilities.

2002
Expanded the south cargo apron by approximately 35,000 sq. yards to accommodate additional cargo and passenger airlines. This brings the total space available for aircraft parking on this ramp to 56,000 sq. yards.

Installed explosive detection equipment to screen all baggage before it is loaded onto aircraft. This effort by the airport and Transportation Security Administration is designed to prevent explosives from being loaded onto departing aircraft.

2003
Constructed five new rental car service facilities. These facilities were needed to accommodate the need by the rental car companies to service and maintain their ever increasing fleet of rental vehicles.

2004
Expanded and upgraded the security fencing and access control equipment. This project was designed to improve access control to the airfield and passenger loading areas.

Purchased and installed two new passenger-boarding bridges, these bridges were needed to accommodate additional airlines. The Airport now has a total of eleven passenger-boarding bridges.

Renamed the airfield after the founder and only Chairman of the Airport Commission, Mr. Roger Milliken. Mr. Milliken’s vision and dedication to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport has made this airport one of the best and safest airports in the nation.

2005
Widened the airport entrance road to accommodate additional vehicle traffic.

This project was advanced several years in order to take advantage of the South Carolina Department of Transportation’s decision to close and improve the airport interchange from Interstate 85.