Fairwood Common, now known as Swansea Airport, opened on 15 June 1941 and was quickly home to No 10 Group of Fighter Command. Hawker Hurricanes from No 79 Squadron were the first to move in and within a few months the airfield became a Sector station. Aircraft from Fairwood Common provided aerial cover for the south of Wales and part of the south-west of England by both day and night. Bristol Beaufighters of No 600 Squadron were briefly here as well in June, replaced quickly by Hurricanes of No 317 Squadron, and yet more of No 504 Squadron soon joined. These units were among many to fly from Fairwood Common that supported raids over Europe.

No 125 Squadron became a relatively rare long-term resident and one of the most significant units that flew from Fairwood Common. It operated Boulton Paul Defiant night fighters initially before switching to Beaufighters in the early months of 1942. This unit made contact with a number of Luftwaffe aircraft during its stay from September 1941 to April 1943, with breaks elsewhere during this period. No 11 Armament Practice Camp (APC) was established at Fairwood Common in October 1943, joined by No 18 APC from August 1944. Both units merged in July 1945 to become No 1 Armament Practice Station which stayed until the spring of 1946. A large number of different aircraft types therefore passed through the airfield. Around 40 squadrons visited for firing practice between 1943 and 1946.

The wartime airfield was equipped with three runways. Three Bellman and eight Blister hangars were originally built with further improvements being made throughout the war.

Fairwood Common was then left largely inactive from the late 1940s and facing an uncertain future, although the Swansea and District Flying School and Club used the airfield from 1949. It was not until 1957 that the airfield officially opened as Swansea Airport. Cambrian Airways operated scheduled flights to Jersey and Guernsey and Morton Air Services operated a service to London Gatwick. However, all scheduled flights ceased from 1969 and limited private flying and charter flights were the only activity the airfield saw during the 1970s and 1980s.

HeliAir Wales moved to Fairwood Common in the 1990s, providing helicopter training, and in 2000 entrepreneur Martin Morgan purchased the airfield. Plans were made to upgrade the airport's facilities. Air Wales' owner Roy Thomas then took over Swansea Airport in 2003 with Air Wales basing their headquarters there. The airline offered a number of short haul flights to locations such as Amsterdam, Dublin and London. However, demand did not reach the required level and Air Wales soon left to focus on their operations at Cardiff Airport. Fairwood Common does however continue to be active as of 2016 and is open for general aviation and charter flights.