The Paya Lebar International Airport was officially opened on 20 August 1955 by then British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Alan Lennox-Boyd. With its opening, it replaced the Kallang International Airport as Singapore’s main commercial airport. The 1960s and 1970s saw the rapid expansion of air travel. Even though extensions were made to the Paya Lebar airport in 1971 and in 1978, it was still unable to cope with the high volume of passenger traffic. Plans for a new commercial airport were made and the Changi Airport was eventually opened in 1981. The Paya Lebar Airport then became a military airbase for the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
