Best airport in the East now almost history

By Ida Indawati Khouw

Old Batavia was no less attractive than other large cities around the world at that time. Kemayoran Airport, called "the best airport in the East", is a reminder of the hustle and bustle of these days. The authorities have demolished the airport's buildings, leaving only its tower as a reminder of the past. Located in Central Jakarta, the tower is suffering from years of neglect. This is the third article in a planned series about Jakarta's historical buildings which will run in the Saturday edition of The Jakarta Post.

JAKARTA (JP): Dutch magazine Het Motorverkeer in 1940 named Kemayoran Airport "the best airport in the East".

The criteria for this honor was unclear.

But the magazine said the airport had a sophisticated sound system installed by electronics company Phillips.

Other "modern" equipment, it said, included the bordering lamps which ran along the 50-meter-wide and 800-meter-long landing strip to help guide pilots during night flights.

The magazine ranked the airport on the same level as those in European countries.

"Big airports in Europe have installed sound system equipment. Kemayoran Airport did the same thing, making its rank no less than those in Europe," the magazine reported.

Under the title Batavia's Vliegstation Kemajoran (Batavia's Kemajoran Airport), the magazine wrote the 454-hectare airport had been operated a long time before its official grand opening on July 8, 1940.

Today, it is difficult to find traces of this important part of Indonesia's national heritage.

Only a few notes regarding the airport can be discovered by those looking for information on the subject.

Even the city's museum and restoration agency, which has the authority to collect and store information on historical sites and objects, cannot provide a detailed background of the airport.

The only information they have is that the airport was built in the early 20th century (during the Dutch colonialism) and its tower was the first in the country.

However, the agency cannot say which airplane took the maiden flight to and from the airport.

According to the Dutch magazine, Dutch company KNILM, which managed the airport, purchased a model of a three-engine Fokker 7B airplane in 1928 to be placed in the airport's compound.

"In September that year the airplane flew to Indie (Indone sia)," it said.

A plaque was hung at the airport stating that Qantas Empire Airways Limited of Australia delivered its appreciation to the Kemayoran Airport management for its cooperation in opening the route between the airport and Australia in Dec. 10, 1934.

Santoso Kurnia, who worked in the airport between 1968 and 1985, witnessed the hectic activities at Kemayoran Airport during those days.

The work of the bustling airport staff only ended at 2 in the morning every day, he said.

"Big aircraft, such as Boeing 747s, Boeing 707s and DC 8s, landed and took off at the airport. It received passengers from big airlines, including Lufthansa, Qantas, Pan Am, KLM, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Aeroflot," Santoso, who was an employee of state-run PT Angkasapura I, which managed the airport after the country gained independence, told The Jakarta Post.

Staff working at the tower were extremely busy in their efforts to maintain order in the skies.

Since the airport was closed and demolished in 1985, this piece of the country's glorious past is barely remembered.

The only thing left is the neglected control tower, listed by the Jakarta administration as one of the city's 132 historic buildings.

Standing at the top of the tower today you can barely see the sky through all the newly constructed high-rise buildings, apartments and the Jakarta Fair complex.

The long grass surrounding the tower illustrates the lack of attention the government has give to one of our national heritages.

Many see the tower at the edge of its existence; a relic ready to be buried.

At one time the tower was to be destroyed to make way for the Kota Baru Bandar Kemayoran satellite city.

The massive project, under the auspices of the Kemayoran Development and Control Board managed by the State Secretary, was to include the ambitious 558-meter-high Jakarta Tower, the Protection Tower, the Kemayoran Business Center, a Telecommunications and Development complex, hospitals, schools and apartments.

The plan was halted by economy difficulties.

Like many old and neglected buildings, the tower has become notorious as a prime crime area and the site of many a hair- raising story.

Security guard Nana Rochana said people sometimes saw a large, black creature pass by the glasses windows at the top of the tower.

"Crimes also take place quite often here. In July alone two cases of armed robbery took place here," he said, pointing to a dimly lit area near the building.

Another security guard, Basiran, said a group of youths recently saw a "ghost" sitting behind a nearby tree.

Whether you believe these stories or not, the tower does look like a "house of evil". Its sturdy walls are defaced by graffiti, while the rest of the building seems to be falling apart.

Five or six young men who work in the nearby park have made the tower their shelter.

They sleep, cook, bathe and pray at the tower. At dusk, they go to the top to enjoy the sunset over Kemayoran and the colorful kites in the sky.

A few meters from the building, a number of local soccer teams are busy with their matches.

Just like the authorities, none of them seem aware of the tower, which was once a proud part of the "best airport in the East".