Together with the 2nd Jakarta Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, it served over 70 million passengers of Greater Jakarta in 2017.

The airport was ranked as 8th busiest airport in the world by Airports Council International in 2013. According to air travel intelligence company OAG, the airport ranked as the 7th most connected airport in the world & ranked first as 'megahub' airport in Asia-Pacific region as per connectivity index, ahead of Japan's Tokyo Haneda Airport and Australia's Sydney Airport. The airport ranked as the 7th most connected airport as 'megahub' in the world in 2017 again by air travel intelligence company OAG.

The airport commenced domestic operations in 1985 replacing the old over capacity Kemayoran Airport. The airport was expanded in 1991 to replace Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport for international flights, which still serves domestic charter, VIP, private flights, and re-opened as second commercial airport for domestic flights to relieve pressure over Soekarno-Hatta airport that is currently running over capacity.

The airport often struggles to accommodate all flights at its current limit of 81 aircraft movements per hour. Although over capacity, after a survey from 23 April to 3 May the Airport Council International (ACI) stated on 4 May 2012 that Soekarno–Hatta International Airport is being operated safely. The two existing runways suffer from pavement and strength issues, which limits the airport's capacity to serve large aircraft. To reduce congestion and to achieve a target to handle 100 flights/hour, works for a 3rd runway is currently going on, which is expected to open in 2018. Upgrading of existing two runways are almost completed for safe operation and to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft at the airport.The airport will be able to serve 100 million passengers annually by 2025 after completion of ongoing development work.

According to wikipedia