The airport was built on the former site of an oil palm plantation of company Perkebunan Nusantara II Tanjung Morawa.

It is part of the Indonesian central government's "Masterplan to Accelerate and Expand Economic Development in Indonesia" (MP3EI)[5] 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.

[1] 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.

[4] 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.

[10] 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.

[11] 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 metres (9,843 ft), 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.

[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.

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.

[23][24] It also includes an apron area measuring 664 square metres (7,150 sq ft) capable of handling 33 aircraft.

[27] AP II also plans to develop a 200-hectare (490-acre) 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.

[29] 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.

Tour companies Paradep and Travel Nice Trans links the airport to Parapat via Pematang Siantar that is a main gateway to reach some popular destinations like Samosir Island and Lake Toba.

Taxi operators that bring passengers to the airport are limited to Blue Bird, KARSA, MATRA, and Nice Trans.

[70][32] CNN Indonesia criticized Sokerno-Hatta International Airport for falling behind Kualanamu in "halal"-ing online taxis.

[73] On 1 May 2014, Indonesian flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia opened flight from Medan to Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport as an extension of the Hajj-special Makassar-Medan route.