Kualanamu International Airport

Kualanamu International Airport — often spelled as Kuala Namu and informally abbreviated KNIA[3] — is an international airport serving Medan, Indonesia, and other parts of North Sumatra. It is located in Deli Serdang Regency, 23 km east of downtown Medan.[4] 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 a four-star rating from Skytrax.

The airport was opened to the public on 25 July 2013, handling all flights and services from Polonia International Airport, an airport located at the centre of Medan which was deemed dangerous. The airport was built on the former site of an oil palm plantation of company Perkebunan Nusantara II Tanjung Morawa.[5]

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)[6] program. The airport was also considered as a candidate for ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASEAN-SAM), an open skies policy among member countries in the Southeast Asia region which started in 2015.[7]

Etymology

The name of the airport was reported to be a suggestion from the people of Karo to the government and later granted by the Ministry of Transportation.[8] The name consists of two words: 'Kuala,' a Malay and Indonesian word for 'river mouth;'[9] and 'Namu' or 'Namo,' the Karonese for 'deep sea.'[10] Thus, 'Kualanamu' means 'meeting point.'[8] Kualanamu is one of the very few airports in the country not named after Indonesian heroes.[11] It could have also been inspired by Kuala Lumpur International Airport.[8]

History

Polonia Airport was the site of several accidents. It is located in the centre 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 at the time, stated that for the sake of aviation safety, a new airport would be developed outside of the city of Medan.[5]

Preparation of construction began in 1997, but the Asian Financial Crisis that started in the same year postponed the development of it. Demands for the new airport continued following the Mandala Airlines Flight 091 accident in September 2005 that occurred shortly after taking off from Polonia for Jakarta.[12] This accident killed the incumbent North Sumatran governor at that time Tengku Rizal Nurdin and his predecessor Raja Inal Siregar, who died a day later.[13] 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 m, which although considered long for European standards, is short for Indonesian standards due to it being at a lower latitude 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 ha 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. Between 1999 and 2006, some people used parts of the land illegally as agricultural land and PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) offered them monetary compensation to move elsewhere. Construction resumed on 29 June 2006,[14] shortly before the first anniversary of the crash of Mandala Airlines Flight 091. Jusuf Kalla, vice President of Indonesia at the time, laid the first cornerstone.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] On 22 July, a trailer for the airport was released.[18]

Facilities and infrastructure

The airport is Indonesia's third largest, after Soekarno–Hatta International Airport and the new Kertajati International Airport, with a 224,298 m2 passenger terminal[20] and will eventually have a capacity of 22 million passengers (2030).[21] Kualanamu Airport has an automatic baggage handling system, thus becoming the first airport in Indonesia which does not need baggage porters.[22]

The airport is equipped with a single 3,750 x 60 m runway, and a 3,750 and 2,000 m parallel taxiway capable of accommodating wide-body aircraft, including category – F jets such as the Airbus A380, Boeing 747-8, and Antonov 225.[23][24] 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 and 50,820 m2 parking capacity with 405 taxis, 55 busses, and 908 cars.[21] 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.[25] 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.[26] 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 sqm from 13,450 sqm at present, and expansion of passenger terminal to 224,256 sqm to increase the capacity from 9 million passengers to 17 million passengers annually, which starts in 2018.[27] AP II also plans to develop a 200 ha 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, office building, hospital and movie theater.[28]

As of 2025, 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.

Operations

Airside facilities are controlled by the Indonesian government, while landside facilities would be owned by a joint venture with PT Angkasa Pura II, 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.[30] 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 four interchanges, four underpasses, seven flyovers, and three toll gates.[31]

The airport is the first in Indonesia with a publicly accessible check-in area (other 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.[32][33] The airport is designed by Wiratman & Associates, who had also designed several other new airports and office buildings in Indonesia.[34] Computer renderings showing a T-shape design were posted on the company's website.[35] Another rendering and masterplan can be found in Angkasa Pura II website.[36][37] A visualization of the airport was also released.[38] The Indonesian government hopes that Kualanamu "can compete with Singapore Changi, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, etc.," and make Kualanamu "an international hub."[39]

Airlines and destinations

Traffic

Ground transportation

Accolades

In June 2015, Kualanamu received a certificate from Skytrax as a "4-Star Airport", the first Indonesian airport to receive such title.[99] On 16 June 2016, the airport won the Diamond Award for the Service Quality Award under the 'International Airports' category by Angkasa Pura II.[100] In August 2019, the custom system of the airport received an accolade from the 2018 Innovation Competition by the Ministry of Finance, given by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, along with Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.[101]

See also

• Aviation in Indonesia
• List of airports in Indonesia
• List of airports by ICAO code: W

External links

• Official website of Kualanamu International Airport
• Medan Airport – Indonesia Airport global website
• Horison Sky Kualanamu
• Railink Indonesia
• Official website of Angkasa Pura 2
• Indonesia Economic Masterplan 2011–2025