Kualanamu International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Kualanamu) (often spelled as Kuala Namu and informally abbreviated KNIA) is an international airport serving

Medan Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four mai ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and other parts of North Sumatra. It is located in the Deli Serdang

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, 23 km east of downtown Medan. Kualanamu is the third-largest airport in Indonesia after Jakarta Soekarno–Hatta and Bandung Kertajati, and the fifth busiest airport in Indonesia as of 2018, as well as the first Indonesian airport to receive four stars rating from

Skytrax Skytrax (originally known as Inflight Research Services) is a United Kingdom–based consultancy which runs an airline and airport review and ranking site. Services Skytrax conducts research for commercial airlines, as well as taking surveys ...

. The airport was opened to public on 25 July 2013, handling all flights and services from

Polonia International Airport Soewondo Air Force Base ( id, Pangkalan Udara Soewondo) is currently the military airbase of Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Before 2013, this airport served commercial flights, and was known as Polonia International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara ...

, an airport located at the heart of Medan which was deemed dangerous. The airport was built on the former site of an

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm '' Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its c ...

plantation of company Perkebunan Nusantara II

Tanjung Morawa Tanjung Morawa is a large town and administrative district (''kecamatan'') within Deli Serdang Regency of North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. It has an area of and had a population of 223,450 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 20 ...

. The airport is expected to become the new international transit center in Sumatra and the western part of Indonesia. It is part of the Indonesian central government's "Masterplan to Accelerate and Expand Economic Development in Indonesia" (MP3EI) program. The airport was also considered as a candidate for ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASEAN-SAM), an

open skies The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberali ...

policy among member-countries in the Southeast Asia region starting 2015.

Etymology

The name for the airport was reported to be suggestions from the people of Karo to the government and later granted by the

Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

. The name consists of two words: 'Kuala,' a Malay and Indonesian word for ' river mouth;' and 'Namu' or 'Namo,' the Karonese for '

deep sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of 200 metres (656 feet) or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combin ...

.' Thus, 'Kualanamu' means '

meeting point Meeting Point ( Chinese: 匯點) was a liberal political organisation and party in Hong Kong formed by a group of former student activists in the 1970s and intellectuals for the discussion for the Sino-British negotiation on the question of Hon ...

.' Kualanamu is considered the very few airports not named after Indonesian heroes. It could have also been inspired by

Kuala Lumpur International Airport Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is Malaysia's main international airport. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of Kuala Lumpur and serves the city's greater conurbation. KLIA is the largest and ...

History

Polonia Airport was the site of several accidents. It is located in the center of the city, giving a challenging takeoff path and a relatively short runway. The development of Kualanamu Airport initiated in 1991. In a visit to Medan, Azwar Anas,

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

at the time, stated that for the sake of aviation safety, a new airport would be developed outside of the city of Medan. Preparation of construction began in 1997, but the

Asian Financial Crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

that started in the same year postponed the development of it. Demands for the new airport continued following the

Mandala Airlines Flight 091 Mandala Airlines Flight 091 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Medan to Jakarta, operated by Mandala Airlines with a Boeing 737-200Adv. On September 5, 2005 at 10:15 a.m. WIB (UTC+7), the aircraft stalled and crashed into a heavily ...

accident in September 2005 that occurred shortly after taking off from Polonia for Jakarta. This accident killed the incumbent North Sumatran governor at that time Tengku Rizal Nurdin and his predecessor

Raja Inal Siregar Raja Inal Siregar (5 March 1938 – 5 September 2005) was governor of North Sumatra from 1988 to 1998. He was among the Mandala Airlines Flight 091 crash victims, succumbing to his injuries a day after the crash. He was said to be on his way to ta ...

, who died a day later. This accident also involved ground casualties with at least 50 casualties, as the airport is very close to overcrowded residential areas and the runway was only 3,000 meters, which although considered long for European standards, is short for Indonesian standards due to it being at a lower

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

from the equator, meaning it is warmer and as a result the air is thinner, which ultimately means that longer runway distances are needed. All 1,365 hectares of land was acquired between 1995 and 1997 and with the certificate ''Exploitation Rights'' (Hak Pengelolaaan) No. 1 on 29 November 1999 and 100% of the land belonged to

PT Angkasa Pura II Angkasa Pura (Sanskrit for ''Sky City'') is the name used by two separate state enterprises of the Indonesian Ministry of State Owned Enterprises responsible for the management of airports in Indonesia. The two companies are PT Angkasa Pura ...

. Between 1999 and 2006, some people used parts of the land illegally as agricultural land and

(AP II) offered them monetary compensation to move elsewhere. Construction resumed on 29 June 2006, shortly before the first anniversary of the crash of

. Jusuf Kalla,

vice President of Indonesia The vice president of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Wakil Presiden Republik Indonesia) is second-highest officer in the executive branch of the Indonesian government, after the president, and ranks first in the presidential line of succ ...

at the time, laid the first cornerstone. This marked the construction of Kualanamu after several years with no progress. Computer renderings showing a T-shape design were posted on the company's website. A visualization of the airport is also released. It was then predicted that the airport would be completed by 2010. With land acquisition as the biggest hurdle for this project, the airport's opening was delayed until 2013 due to lack of local government awareness.Kualanamu International Airport Hits a New Roadblock
. Retrieved 16 February 2013. On 22 July, a trailer for the airport was released.

Soft opening

A soft opening to the public was done on 25 July 2013. The airport's very first commercial departure was a

domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes c ...

Garuda Indonesia GA181 ferry flight from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Terminal 3 touching down at approximately 05:00 WIB.

Grand opening

The airport was officially opened by President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which was marked by the signing of the stone inscription plaque on 27 March 2014.

Facilities and infrastructure

The airport is Indonesia's third largest, after

Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Soekarno–Hatta International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Soekarno–Hatta) , abbreviated SHIA or Soetta, formerly legally called Jakarta Cengkareng Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Jakarta Cengkareng) (hence the IATA designator "CGK" ...

and the new

Kertajati International Airport Kertajati International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Kertajati, Sundanese: ) is an airport in West Java, Indonesia that serves as a second international airport for the Greater Bandung and Cirebon metropolitan areas,as well as parts ...

, with a 224,298 m² passenger terminal and will eventually have a capacity of 22 million passengers (2030). Kualanamu Airport has an automatic baggage handling system, thus becoming the first airport in Indonesia which does not need baggage porters. The airport is equipped with a single 3,750 x 60-meter

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

, and a 3,750m and 2,000m long parallel

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...

capable of accommodating

wide-body aircraft A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabi ...

, including ''category – F jets'' such as the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...

Boeing 747-8 The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body airliner formerly developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and the largest variant of the 747. After introducing the 747-400, Boeing considered larger 747 versions as alternatives to the proposed double-deck Ai ...

, and Antonov 225. It also includes an apron area measuring 664 m² capable of handling 33 aircraft. It also has a 13,000 m² cargo area that can handle 3 carriers with 65,000 tonnes/

annum A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the h ...

and 50,820 m² parking capacity with 405 taxis, 55 busses, and 908 cars. It covers 1,365 ha of land, 20 km northeast of Polonia airport, 3 km from the sea, and on a site of area 6,5 x 2,1 km. Phase 1 of the new airport has a capacity to serve 8 million passengers annually, but at early 2014 has served 8.3 million passengers annualized. Phase 2 starts construction in mid-2015 to serve 25 million passengers. Phase III expansion of the airport includes expansion of the runway to allow the airport to accommodate the Airbus A380, and expansion of cargo area to 24,715 square meters from 13,450 square meters at present, and expansion of passenger terminal to 224,256 square meters to increase the capacity from 9 million passengers to 17 million passengers annually, which starts in 2018. AP II also plans to develop a 200 hectare plot of land for commercial area outside the passenger terminal. The commercial area is built with an "airport city" concept with 3, 4 and 5 star hotels, a

hypermarket A hypermarket (sometimes called a hyperstore, supercentre or superstore) is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including ...

, office building, hospital and movie theater. Currently, the ILS system in used is ILS CAT I for both Runway 05 and 23. Arrivals and departures are usually directed to Runway 23 while Runway 05 will be used depending on

wind direction Wind direction is generally reported by the direction from which it originates. For example, a ''north'' or ''northerly'' wind blows from the north to the south. The exceptions are onshore winds (blowing onto the shore from the water) and offsho ...

Airport hotel

A hotel located at 2nd floor named Horison Sky Kualanamu was built. It covers 7,000 square meters of area with the capacity of 140 rooms. Two other hotels, The Wing Hotel and The Crew, were also built.

Operations

Airside facilities are controlled by the Indonesian government, while landside facilities would be owned by a joint venture with

, which is expected to provide $350 million as an initial investment in return for a 30-year lease, after which ownership would revert to PT Angkasa Pura II. The airport will be linked to the city of Medan by a $10.7 million railway project. An 18 km highway is under construction improving the airport's road connection to the city of Medan. It will cost $1.5 billion and will have 4 interchange, 4 underpasses, 7 flyovers, and 3 toll gates. Kualanamu Check-in area

The airport is the first in Indonesia with a publicly accessible check-in area (current Indonesian airports restrict access to ticket holders with security at the gate), as in a much larger and more spacious check-in area than the existing airport. The airport is designed by Wiratman & Associates, who had also designed several other new airports and office buildings in Indonesia. Computer renderings showing a T-shape design were posted on the company's website. Another rendering and masterplan can be found in Angkasa Pura II website. A visualization of the airport was also released. The Indonesian government hopes that Kualanamu "can compete with nowiki/>Singapore

Changi Changi () is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the Seran ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, etc.," and making Kualanamu "an international hub."

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Traffic and statistics

Ground transportation

Rail transport

Train services are operated by PT Railink, a joint venture between PT

Angkasa Pura Angkasa Pura (Sanskrit for ''Sky City'') is the name used by two separate state enterprises of the Indonesian Ministry of State Owned Enterprises responsible for the management of airports in Indonesia. The two companies are PT Angkasa Pura ...

II and Indonesian Railway. It is the first integrated

airport rail link An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city by mainline or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover, or light rail. Direct links operate straight to the airport terminal, while ...

in Indonesia. The trains were made in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. The route runs from

Medan Main Station Medan Station is the main list of railway stations in Indonesia, railway station in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. In addition to intercity services operated by Rail transport in Indonesia, Indonesia's national rail operator, Kereta Api Indones ...

beside the Merdeka Square to

Kualanamu International Airport railway station Kualanamu International Airport Station (KNM) is an airport railway station located in Kualanamu International Airport complex, in Beringin, Beringin, Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Ind ...

, providing the fastest way to reach the airport, taking 30 minutes, and the return taking 30 to 47 minutes. In May 2014, a double-tracking from Medan to the airport began. This will cut time travel by at least 10 minutes. On 28 September 2022, Railink launched new stop-over at Bandar Khalipah Station in Deli Serdang. Estimated travel time from this station will take 20 minutes to reach the airport. Passengers can also take up journey from Bandar Khalipah Station to

with estimated travel time 10 minutes. Online bookings were made available directly from its website.

Roads

The airport is connected by the Medan–Kualanamu–Tebing Tinggi Toll Road, an expressway specifically made to connect the airport and city Tebing Tinggi and other parts of eastern North Sumatra, which is also part of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road network. An

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector r ...

connecting the city of Medan and the airport were also built as an alternative.

Bus

A state-owned bus company,

Perum DAMRI DAMRI Public Corporation ( id, Perusahaan Umum DAMRI; was ''Djawatan Angkoetan Motor Repoeblik Indonesia'', lit. Motor Transport Enterprise of the Republic of Indonesia) is an Indonesian state-owned bus operator. Under further development as a ...

, operates services to the airport. The DAMRI bus has only two bus shelters in Medan, on Gatot Subroto Road next to Plaza Medan Fair and at the Amplas bus terminal. It takes about 60 to 90 minutes to reach the airport (depending on departure point and traffic). 2 hours from more central Plaza Medan Fair are not uncommon. The fare is cheaper than a train ride to city. There is also a cab service which carries passengers to several destinations. Tour companies Paradep and Travel Nice Trans links the airport to

Parapat Parapat, also known as the City of Parapat, is a small town in North Sumatra province on the edge of Lake Toba, on the Uluan Peninsula where it forms the narrowest eastern link to Samosir Island. It is the primary transit point by ferry for v ...

via

Pematang Siantar Pematangsiantar (sometimes written as Pematang Siantar, acronym PS or ''P. Siantar'', colloquially just Siantar), is an independent city in North Sumatra, Indonesia, surrounded by, but not part of, the Simalungun Regency, making Pematangsiantar a ...

that is a main gateway to reach some popular destinations like

Samosir Island Samosir, or Samosir Island, is a large volcanic island in Lake Toba, located in the north of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Administratively, Samosir Island is governed as six of the nine districts within Samosir Regency. The lake and i ...

and

Lake Toba Lake Toba ( id, Danau Toba) ( Toba Batak: ᯖᯀᯬ ᯖᯬᯅ; romanized: ''Tao Toba'') is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of a supervolcano. The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the i ...

Taxis

Taxi costs about twice that of train tickets. Taxi operators that bring passengers to the airport are limited to Blue Bird, KARSA, MATRA, and Nice Trans. Grab and

Go-Jek PT Gojek Indonesia (stylized in all lower case and stylized ''j'' as goȷek, formerly styled as GO-JEK) is an Indonesian on-demand multi-service platform and digital payment technology group based in Jakarta. Gojek was first established in Ind ...

operate inside the airport.

CNN Indonesia Cable News Network Indonesia (known as CNN Indonesia and abbreviated as CNN ID) is a 24-hour Indonesian free-to-air television news channel owned by Trans Media in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery under CNN license. Broadcasting fro ...

criticized Sokerno-Hatta International Airport for falling behind Kualanamu in "

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with '' haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification k ...

"-ing online taxis.

Regional hub

Kualanamu International Airport is plotted to be a Regional Hub as South Korea's

Incheon International Airport Incheon International Airport (IIA; ) (sometimes referred to as Seoul–Incheon International Airport) is the largest airport in South Korea. It is the primary airport serving the Seoul Capital Area and one of the largest and busiest airports ...

brother airport, thus on 25 June 2012 an agreement has been signed of both party operators. Incheon's operator will assist Kualanamu's operator to become the regional hub with world-class standards. In early 2014, Flying Fox Airways is still processing the hub license. On 1 May 2014, Indonesian flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia opened flight from Medan to Jeddah

King Abdulaziz International Airport King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) ( ar, مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي) is an international airport serving Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also known as "Jeddah International Airport"( ar, مطار جدة الدولي). T ...

as an extension of the Hajj-special Makassar-Medan route.

Accolades

In June 2015, Kualanamu received a certificate from

as a "4-Star Airport", the first Indonesian airport to receive such title. On 16 June 2016, the airport won the Diamond Award for the Service Quality Award under the 'International Airports' category by Angkasa Pura II. In August 2019, the custom system of the airport received an accolade from the 2018 Innovation Competition by the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

, given by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, along with Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Incidents

* On 18 May 2013, a

Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (Th ...

Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

that was supposed to land on Polonia Airport, almost landed on unfinished-Kualanamu instead. The plane did not land but the landing gear had been released. The pilot throttled the plane to TO/GA as soon as he realized it, and made it back to Polonia safely. * On 24 April 2015, a JT303,

Lion Air PT Lion Mentari Airlines, operating as Lion Air, is an Indonesian low-cost airline. Based in Jakarta, Lion Air is the country's largest privately run airline, the second largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia (after AirAsia) and the large ...

Boeing 737-900er The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

with the registration PK-LFT heading for Jakarta, had its engine on fire. Passengers were immediately evacuated via the emergency doors. Three people were reported to have bone fractures caused by jumping off the middle doors and were rushed to the nearest hospital directly. On 4:30 pm, a plane was provided for the passengers to fly to Jakarta safely. * On 3 August 2017, a wing collision occurred involving JT197, a Lion Air Boeing 737-900ER with the registration PK-LJZ from Banda Aceh Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport, and IW1252, a

Wings Air PT Wings Abadi Airlines, operating as Wings Air, is a scheduled commuter passenger low cost airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The airline operates out of Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar as well as several other airports a ...

ATR 72–500 with the registration PK-WFF heading for Cut Nyak Dhien Airport, a regional airport at the

Meulaboh Meulaboh ( Jawoë: ملابوه; or ''Moulabouh'') is the capital of West Aceh Regency, Indonesia. Geography Meulaboh is about 245 km southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. Meulaboh is located in the western part of Sumatr ...

regency. Flight 197 tried avoiding the runway, but due to short distances, the collision occurred. Activities regarding flights in the airport were delayed for 20 minutes. * On 26 September 2017 at around 12:30, Citilink Flight 885 to

Batam Batam is the largest city in the province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang (collectively called Barelang), as well as several small islands. Batam Island is the c ...

had its A320-200's right wing covered in a swarm of bees, causing a 90 minutes delay. The ground crew then sprayed water at the wing, cleaned the wing and scattered the bees. It was revealed that a logging activity near the airport destroyed the bees' habitat, thus causing them to seek refuge at the airport.

References

External links

Official Website of Kualanamu International Airport

Horison Sky Kualanamu

Railink IndonesiaOfficial Website of Angkasa Pura 2Indonesia Economic Masterplan 2011–2025
{{Garuda Indonesia Airports in North Sumatra Airports established in 2013 2013 establishments in Indonesia