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tate airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II is aiming to make Kuala Namu International Airport in North Sumatra a hub for airlines serving destinations in Asia and the Middle East.

Airport general manager Tengku Said Ridwan said on Wednesday that Sri Lanka-based Mihin Lanka was now the first international airline to make the airport its hub for its flights to the Middle East.

'€œMihin Lanka flies from Jakarta and transits at Kuala Namu airport twice a week before heading to Jeddah [Saudi Arabia],'€ he told The Jakarta Post.

According to Ridwan, Malaysia-based Flying Fox Airways, a code-sharing partner of Indonesia'€™s private airline, Sriwijaya Air, also planned to make the airport its hub for its flights to Dhaka, Bangladesh, in the near future.

'€œThe airline is still processing the license [to allow Flying Fox to use the airport as its hub],'€ he said.

He added that national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia was also processing the same permit to make the airport its hub for its flights to Jeddah.

Malaysian Consul General Ahmad Rozian Abdul Gani, based in Medan, confirmed that Flying Fox Airways would soon launch a new route from Ipoh, Malaysia, to Kuala Namu and then to Dhaka.

'€œI heard that there were some technical issues in the license application process in Ipoh. But all the issues are expected to be overcome by June 2014 at the latest,'€ he told the Post.

Ahmad Rozian said Kuala Namu airport was important, especially in the lead-up to the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

Singaporean Consul General Mark Low said Kuala Namu International Airport had tremendous potential to be developed into a hub for flight services in western Indonesia.

The airport, he said, would be more convenient for travelers as they would not have to transit via Jakarta for trips to destinations in the western half of Indonesia.