Initially served by a runway, it began operations in January 1948 as the main hub for domestic flights from Buenos Aires as well as flights to Uruguay. Its first terminal was completed in 1951, by which time the runway was extended to . The airport was renamed following the 1955 coup against President Juan Perón in honor of the pioneer of Argentine aviation, Jorge Newbery, and was re-inaugurated in 1960 following work that expanded its main runway to and added a new terminal. The Argentine Air Force had a small base built near the eastern end of the airport in 1965; at this site, President Isabel Perón was formally deposed by the military in the March 1976 coup. A new terminal for national air carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas was inaugurated in 1981, expanding total terminal area to .