Seletar Airport Seletar Airport is a civilian airport located at Seletar , in the northeastern region of Singapore , and is managed by the Changi Airport Group . Originally , the airport was completed in 1928 as a flying Royal Air Force station ( RAF Seletar ) and was also Singapore ' s first international airport . There had been a proposal to extend its runway to , so as to be able to receive the Boeing 737 used by many budget airlines . However , after considerations by the Singapore Government and the CAAS , they decided to build a Budget Terminal in Singapore Changi Airport instead . History . RAF Seletar . RAF Seletar was a Royal Air Force station in Singapore between 1928 and 1971 . Plans for establishing an airfield , flying boat and naval base in Singapore were first agreed by the RAF in 1921 . In 1923 , two sites in the northern region of the island were approved . The first planes to arrive at the base were four Supermarine Southampton seaplanes on 28 February 1928 . RAF Seletar served as a civil airport from 1930 before the opening of Singapore ' s first civil airport at Kallang on 12 June 1937 ( to the late 1940s ) . The air base was briefly host to Amy Johnson during May 1930 on her UK - Australia flight in her Gipsy Moth named ' Jason ' . World War II . With the threat of war in the area , the RAF started building up their forces in the Far East in the late 1930s and early 1940s . Seletar airfield was the target of carpet bombing when Japanese navy bombers conducted the first air raid on Singapore , sometime after their ground forces invaded Kota Bahru . It was abandoned when the Japanese took Johore Bahru , which brought their artillery in range of the airfield . When the Japanese launched their invasion of Malaya and Singapore , Seletar housed the RAF ’ s 205 Sqn with PBY Catalina flying boats and 36 and 100 Sqns with obsolete Vickers Vildebeest torpedo bombers ( including five Fairey Albacore s acquired by 36 Sqn to supplement its Vildebeests ) , along with 151 Maintenance Unit . These units stayed until Jan - Feb 1942 , soon before the surrender to the invading Japanese . During the Japanese occupation , Seletar as was in the case of Sembawang came under the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service while Tengah fell under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force . From 1942 through 1945 , a number of IJN squadrons were based or transited through Seletar mainly , for training . Among the units known to be based at Seletar during this time were 936 Kokutai ( B5N Kate , D3A Val and E13A1 Jake ) , 381 Kokutai ( A6M Zero and J2M Raiden ) . The 601 Kokutai was also stationed there for training in early before its destruction on board Japanese aircraft carriers during the Battle of Philippine Sea ( Marianas Turkey Shoot ) in June . Seletar ’ s present runway was built during the Japanese Occupation . Post - World War II . After World War II , the base went back to the RAF and , in the late 1940s and 1950s , the base was heavily involved in the Malayan Emergency , with Beaufighters , Spitfires and Mosquitos based there while operating against Malayan Communist insurgents . Among the many squadrons based there during this time were Nos 60 , 81 and 205 Sqns of the RAF . During the 1960s , RAF Seletar was home base to No ' s 103 and 110 Squadron s , both of which were equipped with Westland Whirlwind Mk 10 helicopters and to 34 Squadron , which was equipped with Blackburn Beverley s . All three Squadrons ( among several others ) were involved with support of operations in North Borneo during the Indonesia - Malaysia confrontation . From June 1962 , 66 Squadron ( led by Sqn Leader Gray ) with their Bristol 192 Belvedere helicopters were also based at Seletar , and were sent on frequent tours and detachments to Kuching , Brunei , Labuan and Butterworth as part of the Borneo hearts and minds campaign ( the squadron was later disbanded in March 1969 ) . The helicopter squadrons provided a search and rescue service for the Singapore area . The station was also , at that time , home to 209 Squadron , equipped with Single and Twin Pioneer aircraft . 65 Squadron based at Seletar operated Bloodhound Mk II surface - to - air missiles as anti - aircraft defence from 1 January 1964 until the squadron was disbanded on 30 March 1970 with the equipment and role handed over to 170 Squadron , Republic of Singapore Air Force . Auster aircraft were flown during the Emergency and Confrontation periods in troop / enemy spotting patrols . In December 1966 , three Andover CC Mk1 arrived to replace the ageing Vickers Valetta C1 aircraft of 52 Sqn . 52 Squadron was later reformed in March 1967 after the arrival of a further three aircraft . By now , Confrontation had finished and with no purpose the squadron moved to Changi in 1968 before being disbanded in January 1970 . British Pullout . The RAF station closed at the end of March 1971 ( see East of Suez ) and Seletar was handed over to the Singapore Air Defence Command ( SADC , which became the Republic of Singapore Air Force ( RSAF ) later ) by 1973 , after the British pullout . Among Seletar ’ s claim to fame was that several classic aircraft type flew their last RAF Operational sorties from there including the Short Singapore flying boat ( Mk . III " K6912 " of No . 205 Squadron RAF 14 October 1941 , aircraft transferred to No . 5 Squadron RNZAF ) , Supermarine Spitfire ( PR . XIX " PS888 " of 81 Sqn 1954 ) , De Havilland Mosquito ( PR . 34 " RG314 " of 81 Sqn 1955 ) , Short Sunderland flying boat ( GR . 5 " ML797 " " P " of 205 Sqn , 15 May 1959 ) and Bristol Beaufighter ( TT . X " RD761 " Station Flight 1960 ) . The Short Sunderland flying boats started in RAF service from " Seletar " on 22 June 1938 with 230 Sqn , a sister squadron of 205 Sqn . Seletar Airbase . The formative years of the SADC ( later the RSAF ) was established at Seletar Airbase in September 1968 , with the setting up of the Flying Training School ( FTS ) utilising three Cessna 172G / H on loan from the Singapore Flying Club . The subsequent arrival of eight new Cessna 172Ks in May 1969 , took over the duty from the former and contributed to the increase of training tempo for more selected trainees to participate in the basic flight - training course . Current operations . Seletar Airport now operates as a general aviation airport , mainly for chartered flights and training purposes . Currently , the airport is open 24 hours a day , has a single runway with 27 aircraft stands , has 100 square metres of warehouse space and can handle 840 tons of freight per day . In 1998 , the airport recorded receiving a total of 7 , 945 scheduled flights , handled 23 , 919 passengers and 6 , 025 tons of cargo . The Republic of Singapore Flying Club , Seletar Flying Club and Singapore Flying College are situated at Seletar Airport . The Singapore Flying College also conducts its flying training at Jandakot Airport in Perth , Western Australia and at Sunshine Coast Airport in Maroochydore , Queensland . Another prominent flying school is the Singapore Youth Flying Club , which has its headquarters built on western side of the airport ' s runway . Completed in June 2001 , the clubhouse also has its own parking bays for its fleet of Piper Warrior II , CT - 4E and Diamond DA40 . Also , the rotary training unit of Republic Singapore Air Force - 124 Squadron , has a training detachment at the civilian airport although it is normally headquartered at Sembawang Air Base . Previously Berjaya Air operated scheduled flights to Tioman and Redang . The Berjaya Air service ended on 31 October 2010 and relocated to Changi Airport . In 2007 , JTC Corporation announced the plan to upgrade the Seletar Airport to support the upcoming Seletar Aerospace Park . The plan included lengthening the airport ' s runway to 1 , 800 metres and the upgrading of its avionics systems to allow bigger aircraft to land and take off . Changi Airport Group took over the management of the airport from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore on 1 July 2009 .