The colonial era Simpang Tiga airport was a disc-shaped landing field about a kilometer west of the current runway.
At that time, the area was called the "cornerstone of the Air" where "The foundation of the Air" in which the foundation is still made up of the compacted and hardened soil and was used as a military base.
Originally the foundation was redone from the East to the West with the runway number 14 and 32.
During the Japanese occupation, the airfield was home to a small squadron of airplanes from the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, before being taken over by the Allies.

The airfield was a transit stop on KNILM's Batavia to Medan or Batavia to Singapore route.
After the independence of Indonesia, the newly created  Garuda Indonesian Airways also served Pekanbaru from Jakarta via Padang or Palembang.

In the early days of independence, the current runway was built adjacent to the old airfield.
At first it was only 800 meters long numbered 18 and 36.
In 1950 the runway was extended to 1,500 meters, and in 1967 the runway and aircraft parking ramp was paved with asphalt to a thickness of 7 cm and the length of the 500-meter runway.
In early 2010, the first phase of the airport's expansion started with the construction of a new terminal to replace the original terminal built in the 1980s.
The original terminal was demolished to make way for additional parking spaces.
The new terminal is constructed in a modern design concept with three jetways and a larger apron.
The colonial era Simpang Tiga airport was a disc-shaped landing field about a kilometer west of the current runway. At that time, the area was called the "cornerstone of the Air" where "The foundation of the Air" in which the foundation is still made up of the compacted and hardened soil and was used as a military base. Originally the foundation was redone from the East to the West with the runway number 14 and 32. During the Japanese occupation, the airfield was home to a small squadron of airplanes from the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, before being taken over by the Allies.
The airfield was a transit stop on KNILM's Batavia to Medan or Batavia to Singapore route. After the independence of Indonesia, the newly created  Garuda Indonesian Airways also served Pekanbaru from Jakarta via Padang or Palembang.
In the early days of independence, the current runway was built adjacent to the old airfield. At first it was only 800 meters long numbered 18 and 36. In 1950 the runway was extended to 1,500 meters, and in 1967 the runway and aircraft parking ramp was paved with asphalt to a thickness of 7 cm and the length of the 500-meter runway. In early 2010, the first phase of the airport's expansion started with the construction of a new terminal to replace the original terminal built in the 1980s. The original terminal was demolished to make way for additional parking spaces. The new terminal is constructed in a modern design concept with three jetways and a larger apron.
Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport