Taiping Aerodrome is an aerodrome in Taiping, Larut, Matang and Selama,

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand' ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. It is located at Jalan Muzaffar Shah ''formerly Creagh Road'', Assam Kumbang and also called Tekah Airstrip. The airport was built in early 1929, this wooden structure

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...

was the first airfield in the state of

and also in

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

. Taiping Airport is the oldest airstrip in

. It was built by the British in 1929 for non-military use. Along with Alor Star Airport which was built in the same year, it was one of the earliest airports in Malaya. However, in 1933 more airports were built in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sem ...

and

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

, and the Taiping Airport was no longer important. In February 2007, the airport was chosen to be the hub for the Global Flying Hospitals, GFH. However, in July 2007, it was decided that Taiping Airport was not suitable as the flying hub, and the Chairman of GFH, Neill Newton, announced a new location will be selected, but not in Malaysia.

History

The Taiping Airport which is located in Assam Kumbang also called Tekah Airport. The airport was built in 1929 and claimed as the first airport officially established in

Federated Malay States )Under God's Protection , capital = Kuala Lumpur1 , religion = Islam , legislature = Federal Legislative Council , type_house1 = State level , common_languages = , title_leader = Monarch , leader1 ...

and also in

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. The airport was not as important when compared to other airports that were established after the first at Taiping. Besides, serving as a commercial airport for the use of the British officers and European merchants it also served as the airstrip for the

Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ms, Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia; TUDM; Jawi: ) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (; ). However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force format ...

(RMAF). The airport served short-distance destinations such as to Alor Star,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

and

. The Penang to

flight routes runs a daily stop by at the Taiping Airport. The first Malaya airway company, the Wearne Air Service Company made a daily flight to Taiping, to deliver newspapers to the town. After the end of the Japanese Occupation flight to other

Malay states The monarchies of Malaysia refer to the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features of a federation. Nine of the state ...

were cancelled and the airport only served flights to other airports within the Perak state, and only the Ipoh Airport was authorized to serve flights to other states. The airport also achieved fame through the famous American aviator,

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

in 1937, when she was doing her world flight. Amelia Earhart was flying between

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and Singapore and permission to land at Taiping Airport was granted on 7 June 1937 by the then Resident-General of Malaya. The airport also marked was significant in the history of Malaysia, when

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

and

Mohammad Hatta Mohammad Hatta (; 12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980) was an Indonesian statesman and nationalist who served as the country's first vice president. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indone ...

later became the president and vice-president of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

landed at the airport on 12 August 1945 for a meeting with Dr.

Burhanuddin al-Helmy Dato’ Seri Dr. Burhanuddin bin Muhammad Nur al-Hilmi ( Jawi: برهان الدين بن محمد نور الحلمي; 29 August 1911 – 25 October 1969), commonly known as Burhanuddin al-Helmy, was a Malaysian politician. He was President o ...

and Ibrahim Yaakub who were leaders of a political party named KRIS to talk about the possibility of joining Malaya with Indonesia, when Indonesia achieved independence. The meeting was arranged by the Japanese officers during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. However, the plan was never succeed and Indonesia announced its independence without Malaya. In February 2007, the Chief State Minister of Perak,

Datuk Seri The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regu ...

Tajol Rosli Mohd Ghazali announced that the airport had been chosen as the hub for Global Flying Hospitals (GHF), which is an international organization that brings humanitarian medical support to developing nations. However, the plan was not carried out, because the runway at the airport was too short (about 200 feet long) to accommodate the GFH's planes, as the GFH is using the

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the fam ...

. The GFH is now stationed at the Subang Airport. On 22 August 2014, a military helicopter EC725 Super Cougar owned by

which bring a funeral victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 arrived and landed safely in Taiping Airport at 12:35 PM for the burial of the victims at Al-Hidayah Muslim Cemetery.

References

External links

*Eugene Khoo, 2007 A History of Taiping, Malaysia *Prof.

Khoo Kay Kim Khoo Kay Kim (; 28 March 1937 – 28 May 2019) was a Malaysian historian and academic of Chinese descent. He was honoured with Emeritus Professor title by the University of Malaya in 2001. In January 2011, Khoo was appointed Chancellor of KDU ...

, 2003, The Development of Taiping From 1876 Until World War II: Taiping The Vibrant Years,
News about development of Taiping Airport
* {{authority control Airports in Perak Airports established in 1929

History

See also

References

External links