Darwin International Airport (DRW) traces its origins to 1919, when the first aircraft landed in Darwin. Civil operations began in earnest in 1945, when the Department of Aviation made the existing military airfield available for civilian use and closed the older aerodrome at Parap. The airport has shared its runways with RAAF Base Darwin from the start, a dual-use arrangement that continues today.

The airport's geography is its defining characteristic. Sitting just 8 kilometres from Darwin's city centre in the suburb of Eaton, it is the closest major Australian airport to Southeast Asia, which made it an essential transit point for carriers flying between Australia and Europe from 1950 through 1974. Airlines including BOAC, Alitalia, UTA, and Air India all scheduled services through Darwin during that era. The introduction of longer-range jets in the 1970s ended that chapter almost overnight. Then, on Christmas Eve 1974, Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. The airport became the primary evacuation hub, ferrying 25,628 people out of the city in the days that followed.

Recovery and modernisation followed slowly. A new passenger terminal, built by John Holland at a cost of $55 million, opened on 15 December 1991, finally separating civil and military operations on site. Today DRW operates 2 runways, with the primary runway (11/29) stretching 3,354 metres. The airport serves routes to Singapore, Dili in Timor-Leste, and Bali, alongside an extensive domestic and regional network. Airnorth, Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Singapore Airlines are among the carriers operating here. It is the busiest airport in the Northern Territory and the sole international airport serving the Darwin area.