The airport is the primary method of transport to and from Batam, alongside ferries to neighboring islands, including the sovereign city-state of Singapore in the north.

This stems from its original development to handle diversions of aircraft from Singapore Changi Airport located approximately 30 kilometres (19 miles) away in the case of emergencies or inclement weather, and as such has sufficient facilities for wide-body aircraft including the Boeing 747s, Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s.

[8] BP Batam, the airport operator, plans to expand and improve infrastructure with a massive project costing US$448 million.

The development plan for the airport includes designs for various facilities such as golf courses, hotels, retail facilities, recreation centers, a convention center, offices for e-commerce and telecommunications, logistics and a monorail; it is designed to turn Batam into a business travel destination and Aeropolis.

In the long term, Hang Nadim Airport is planned to be developed into an Aeropolis covering an area of 1,800 hectares.

Lion Air's subsidiary Batam Aero Technic (BAT) has invested in Hang Nadim by building MRO facilities.