Singapore Changi Airport has played a pivotal role in Singapore’s development as a nation. It comes as no surprise, considering its reputation as the World’s Best Airport for 2013-2016 for Skytrax and its positioning in the global scale due to the intensive numbers of passenger and cargo traffic. However, little is known regarding Old Kallang Airport, which was Singapore’s first purpose-built civil airport that used to play the prominent role for Singapore’s aviation before Singapore Changi Airport was even conceived. Once lauded as the “finest airport in the British Empire”, the current Old Kallang Airport sits at 9 Stadium Link in front of Nicoll Highway, where the entrance can be found after taking a relatively short walk from Kallang MRT station. It is closed from public, and can only be accessed upon special request and approval from Singapore Land Authority. Currently uninhabited, it has went through tremendous transformations over the years in terms of expansion and demolishment and changing ownerships.

• 1932 - 1936 Reclamation work on Swamp begins
• 1937 Old Kallang Airport officially opened by Sir Shenton Thomas
• 1941 Principal Fighter Airfield for Singapore defense against the Japanese during World War 2
• 1955 Closure via relocation to new facility at Paya Lebar
• 1956 - 2007 Urban development begins, changing the compounds over the years
• 2008 Gazetted by Urban Redevelopment Authority for Conservation
• 2011 Singapore Biennale
• Calvin Klein & Hermes Fashion Show

Old Kallang Airport has went through tremendous urban development over the years, from conversion to extension, then to relocation and subtraction. The images above offers a general outlook by comparing the initial plans with the plans today, with the red boundary being the control tower of Old Kallang Airport.

The very first physical change of Old Kallang Airport began with the conversion of the landing circle into a single runway due to Japanese occupation. This change is extremely significant, for it not only marked the first of many changes to come, but also the removal of a design feature that has made Old Kallang Airport so reputable. In fact, the landing circle was one of the main reasons the legendary aviator Amelia Earhart commented that the airport was “an aviation miracle of the East” when she made a stopover during 1937. By removing the landing circle, part of the charm of Old Kallang Airport also diminished as a result.

Commercial Aviation at Kallang Old Airport continued in 1949 after the Japanese Occupation, and business began to rise again. With this demand, the Kallang airfield was extended in order to have enough space to provide for an increasing number of aircrafts. This change was also largely due to the increasing sizes of planes as a whole, due to the improvement of technology. Thus, the runway was extended beyond the boundaries of Mountbatten Road to facilitate for more development. This change was crucial as it signaled the first and only time that was a physical addition to Old Kallang Airport, foreshadowing how Old Kallang Airport is slowly starting to have trouble keeping up with the times.

With continual growth in the aviation industry, congestion also started to accumulate at the facility. Extension of runway which was used as a solution previously to address this issue no longer becomes an option, due to new residential areas popping out as part of Singapore’s goal to relocate people living in slums to HDB residential blocks. Inevitably, construction for a new facility at Paya Lebar began in 1951, just a mere 8 kilometres distanced from the original location of Old Kallang Airport. Upon completion in 1955, all relevant facilities were moved over, leading to the official closure of Kallang Airport. This drastic change marked the final chapter of Old Kallang Airport as a place for aviation, paving the way for changes to come that are no longer intertwined together much with aviation.

With the official closure of Kallang Airport as an aviation hub, portions of the Old Kallang Airport were eventually converted for different functions. The runway that the planes used to occupy were converted into a road, while the airfield for aviation was replaced with the National Stadium (which went through another iteration into Singapore Sports Hub) and the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 1973. Despite losing a significantly big amount of space due to the conversions, the left over space in Old Kallang Airport was still considered relatively huge and was thus used for enlistment activities for CMB. Together, these subtractions managed to downsize the original space of Old Kallang Airport, which should come as no surprise there simply wasn’t a need for such a big space anymore considering the fact that aviation activities have ceased in Old Kallang Airport.

As of now, the site has been redefined as a lifestyle hub called Old Airport Square, constituting as part of the development of Kallang area for the new Kallang Riverside.

The current airport building reopened in March 1994 after conservation works that amounted to a whopping $4.16 million. Certain physical features were restored, such as windows of green tint, steps at the base for the entrance, and the historic emblem of a lion and a coconut tree. Despite the major changes due to urban development, the essence of the building which was designed by Frank Dorrington Ward is still very much kept intact, such as the iconic watch tower and the streamline modernist design.

After being gazetted by Urban Redevelopment Authority for conservation, Old Kallang Airport was closed off from public. It was only until 2011, where it finally opened its doors to the public again from 13 March to 15 May for Singapore Biennale. Despite some complaints from visitors and critics for the inconvenience of the location, the Biennale show was considered quite a big success. Big crowds turned up and it was featured on certain magazines for its innovative use of space that combines the new with the forgotten history of Old Kallang Airport. This success eventually led to Calvin Klein & Hermes conducting their joint fashion show at Old Kallang Airport, utilizing the sparse space available and harnessing the rustic charm of the old building.

Until today, Old Kallang Airport still remains as one of the most modern airports ever conceived in the 1950s. Its reputation as “the finest airport in the British Empire” and the first purpose-built civil airport ever built in Singapore laid the foundation for solidifying Singapore’s positioning for aviation at a global scale, which exist even now today due to Changi Airport. Even with the numerous urban developments that have taken place over the years, certain parts of the city still retain part of the identity of Old Kallang Airport. These features include Old Airport road, which was built over the old runway fronting Mountbatten Road. The flats around the area are also named the Old Airport Road estate, with Dakota MRT Station as the designated transport hub, named in tribute of Dakota DC-3 aircraft. Roads near Kallang MRT Station also adopted the name of Kallang, such as “Kallang Airport Drive” and “Kallang Airport Way”. The connector between Geylang Road and Kallang Airport Way is named Old Terminal Lane in tribute to the old terminal building. Oasis building was also built on the Kallang Basin, which used to serve as the slipway for seaplanes.

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