From Kallang to Changi

 

165 aircrafts landing and taking off in a period of 5 hours. Yes, this is the volume of air traffic movement at our new Changi International Airport runways during the peak hours of 5.00pm—10.00pm on Fridays.

The significance of the above can only be appreciated when we compare it with the era of civil aviation 70 years prior to the development of Changi Airport.

In 1911, the old race course (now Farrer Park) was the only landing ground in Singapore when the 1st airplane demonstration flight was given by E. Keith Davis and Pacquet.

This was followed by a pioneering flight from England to Australia in 1919 when Captain Ross Smith landed his 3-engined Vickers Vimy biplane, also on the same race course.

Seletar Air Base

With more planes arriving in Singapore, the authorities decided to improve the naval base. Seletar Air Base which took 2 years to build (1927 - 1929) was chosen to meet the needs.

For 9 years, the military air base at Seletar served as an airport for international airlines such as KNILM, KLM, Qantas, Empire Airways and British Imperial Airways.

Until 1937, Seletar played an invaluable role in the development of civil aviation. It put Singapore on the forefront on the map of air routes. But this air base could not be used indefinitely for civil air service.

When the 1st commercial airline landed here in 1930 — a 950km flight from Batavia (now known as Jakarta) with paying passengers, cargo and the 1st air mail service — the authorities saw the need for an aerodrome.

Kallang Airport

The site at Kallang Basin was considered and in 1932 reclamation work was carried out on this 103 hectares of tidal swamp.

7 million cubic metres of earth were used for the filling of this tidal swamp. Reclamation and consolidation of land were completed in 1936 with a 915-metre diameter, doom-shaped landing ground taking shape. This was the Passenger Terminal Building which today houses the Head-Quarters of the People's Association.

When our first civil airport, Kallang Airport was declared opened in June 1937, it was regarded as one of the best in the world

But this airport suffered severe damage during the Japanese air raids and $2 million were spent on repair work which was completed in 1948.

Kallang Airport could not cope with the increasing demand of bigger and faster planes which required a longer runway.

Kallang Airport could not cope with the increasing demand of bigger and faster planes which required a longer runway.

Paya Lebar Airport

Land was acquired for the construction of a new airport to meet the demands and Paya Lebar Airport, costing $37 million, was ready for use in 1955. This new international airport had a 2,440 metres long and 61 metres wide runway and was capable of handling the biggest and fastest commercial aircraft.

Paya Lebar International Airport was also equipped with the latest facilitates. Further improvements were added and the runway was further extended. The existing hangers were also modified and a new $14 million Passenger Arrival Building was constructed to accommodate the arrival of jumbo jets and the increase in volume of passenger traffic.

With the expectation of an ever increasing air traffic volume and passengers in the 80's the Government conducted a careful study for further expansion of Paya Lebar.

It was considered not feasible to go into further expansion because of land acquisition and resettlement problems, air and noise pollution and the capacity for further expansion. Plans for a 2nd runway expansion were scrapped.

Ever the PM was not satisfied with the decision to build a 2nd runway because of the above factors which concerned him.

A Special Committee for Airport Development (SCAD) was then set up in 1975 to study future airport developments to meet the future needs of Singapore.

Changi Airport

After an intensive study which took 3 months, the committee recommended the construction of a new airport at Changi. A Master Plan was drawn up and after 6 years of relentless toil by thousands of workers from the various professions, Phase I of the new airport was completed in record time.

The development of Changi Airport was carried out in 2 phases - Phase 1 to be completed by mid 1981 and Phase 2 by 1986.

Changi Airport, situated at the eastern end of Singapore, is 5 times that of Paya Lebar Airport. It is sited on 1,600 hectares of land, 921 hectares of which are reclaimed land. This reclamation is more massive than Singapore's 1st airport on Kallang Basin.

Two independent parallel runways, 1,600 metres apart, allow simultaneous aircraft landing and taking off operations. With 2 expressways linking the Airport (which is 20km from the city) it takes about 25 mins to go to the city area.

The prominent landmarks of Singapore Changi Airport, one of the most modern airports in all of Asia, are the Passenger Terminal Building and the 78 metres tall Control Tower.

 The Passenger Terminal Building cost well over $300 million to build and has separate levels for arriving and departing passengers and can handle 10 million passengers a year.

Other facilities at the airport include a parking apron, car parks, a road system, a cargo complex, hangars, flight kitchens, a police station, fire and rescue facilities, fuel facilities, a meteorological station and the most up-to-date and sophisticated long-range radars, navigational aids and communication systems.

As this airport is a gateway to our country, the $1.5 billion invested represents a wise and economically sound long-term solution to Singapore's needs for an international airport. Civil Aviation in Singapore takes on a new dimensional with the opening of Changi Airport on 1st July 1981.

T.T Cher

(Reproduced from KASS Journal 1982 No. 4)