The new Kualanamu Airport of Medan replaces the old Polonia Airport. The new airport was official opened on July 25, 2013 and is built on an area of approximately 1,300 acres which made it the second largest airport in land use in Indonesia after Soekarno Hatta Airport and will be the fourth busiest airport in Indonesia after Jakarta, Denpasar and Surabaya.
The international airport has a modern building design with a variety of modern facilities. Airport name is taken from the word 'Kuala' and 'Namu'. Kuala is a Malay word which refers to the place where rivers enter the sea. The word NamuĀ is derived from the word Namo from the Karo language meaning heart. Combined Kuala Namu means Meeting Place. This name is also consistent with the location as it is nearby water (the Malacca Strait) and beaches.
Most flights from Kualanamu International Airport are to Jakarta and to Kuala Lumpur but there are many more flights to other destinations as well, most of them by Lion Air. These are the most popular destinations from Kualanamu International Airport:
Jakarta (JKTA)
Kuala Lumpur (XKLA)Batam (BTH)
Singapore (SIN)Penang (PEN)Gunung Sitoli (GNS)Surabaya (SUB)Pekanbaru (PKU)Jambi (DJB)Palembang (PLM)Yogyakarta (JOGA)Padang (PDG)
Bangkok (BKKA)Banda Aceh (BTJ)
