Kemayoran Airport

Kemayoran Airport Luchthaven Kemajoran (Dutch), Bandar Udara Kemayoran (Indonesian)
IATA: JKT – ICAO: WIID
Summary
Airport type	Public, Defunct
Location	Jakarta, Indonesia
Elevation AMSL	12 ft / 4 m
Coordinates
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 3,100 m Asphalt concrete

Kemayoran Airport, also spelled Kemajoran Airport, was the principal airport for Jakarta, Indonesia, from 8 July 1940 until 31 March 1985, when it was replaced by Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. What was Kemayoran Airport is now located in two subdistricts: the southern part is located in the Kemayoran Subdistrict, (Central Jakarta) and the northern part is in Pademangan Subdistrict, (North Jakarta).

Douglas DC-8 jetliners flown by Garuda Indonesia, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Japan Airlines, UTA French Airlines, Air Ceylon and Thai International Airways operated to Kemayoran in the 1960s and early 1970s, as did Cathay Pacific Convair 880 jets. Paris-based Transports Aeriens Intercontinentaux formerly served Kemayoran with DC-8s prior to being merged into UTA. Garuda Indonesia also flew Convair 990 and Douglas DC-9 jets as well as Fokker F27 turboprops into the airport at this time. Boeing 707 jetliners operated by Air India, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, Pan Am and QANTAS served Kemayoran as well.

In 1975, international flights were temporarily moved to Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base.

Flight operations terminated on the night of March 31, 1985, and domestic flights were immediately transferred to Soekarno-Hatta Airport. The airport was briefly reactivated for the Kemayoran Air Show in 1996.

Following the airport's closure, the areas around what is then Kemayoran Airport is being developed with highrises. These changes transformed the area around Kemayoran Airport into a more metropolitan city. Consequently, cultural values such as the Betawi Culture was threatened.

The location of the former airport has been a favorite subject in urban planning, on which the former runways have been converted into a wide boulevard, while the green areas around has been filled gradually into developments such as Jakarta International Exposition Center (JIE) and Kotabaru Kemayoran Bandar Kemayoran. Several expansion projects have been abandoned however, due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis like Jakarta Tower and Pallazo Apartement.

The remains of the control tower and main terminal still stands south of the JIE site, with a portion of the airport tarmac remaining in front of the terminal, as is the terminal's forecourt. Plans were in consideration to convert the former main terminal into a government office; this plan was apparently abandoned after 2003, as construction progress has stopped. The current government office stands next to the terminal. The site of the former control tower was once set for a residential property, with the tower itself torn down, but due to the 1997-98 financial crisis, has been largely abandoned.

Popular culture

Kemayoran Airport is the setting for the beginning of The Adventures of Tintin comic, Flight 714, by Hergé. Tintin and his friends, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, and Snowy, transit there for refueling stop on the way to Sydney, Australia.

Gallery

• 
• COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Groepsportret met onder meer J. Vink-Duiven en haar dochter Geesje voor het hek van het vliegveld Kemajoran TMnr 60049180.jpg

  A gate at the airport

• COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Wederopbouw van het vliegveld Kemajoran bij Batavia Java TMnr 10001521.jpg

  Kemayoran Airport under construction (1948)

• COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM J. Vink-Duiven in gezelschap van onder meer haar dochter Geesje op het vliegveld Kemajoran TMnr 60049216.jpg

  Kemayoran Airport restaurant in the 1950s

• Ex Apron of Airport Kemajoran, Jakarta.jpg

  The former terminal of Kemayoran Airport, 2012. Photo taken on 8 July 2012.